


The moment when time stops

by Haroldmay (abirdonalilactree)



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Amnosia, Attempt at humour, Falling In Love, First Meeting, Fluff, M/M, More Fluff, Romance, baking bad, cats but the good kind not the 2019 musical, coffee shop AU, jim pickens - Freeform, sprinkle of angst, the car accident, unbetaed cause we can't read anyway
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-14
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:27:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 37
Words: 98,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22256416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abirdonalilactree/pseuds/Haroldmay
Summary: After a bad day, Kevin finds himself in a coffee shop, where he meets Daniel for the first time.Sometimes a nice cup of hot cocoa and a sweet smile is all it takes to cheer one up.Fluff ensues.~~~This fic is just a joke. So don't take it seriously. It's just supposed to be a bit of fun.Please stay respectful and wholesome.We don't want to ruin their friendship.
Relationships: Daniel | RTGameCrowd & Kevin O'Reilly, Daniel | RTGameCrowd/Kevin O'Reilly
Comments: 297
Kudos: 284





	1. A rainy day

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: This is just some weird stuff I come up with in the middle of the night and thought I might share.  
> This is RPF, which means probably none of this ever happened.
> 
> Don't put this anywhere near Kevin or Daniel. Please.
> 
> Let's all just quietly stay in this corner of the internet.
> 
> Please be respectful. We don't want to ruin their friendship.
> 
> Please stay respectful!  
> Also please don't tag them in ship art.  
> They have a beautiful friendship and we don't want to ruin it.
> 
> This fic is not supposed to be taken seriously.  
> I don't intend to harm anyone and I hope, neither do you.
> 
> Edit 26.01.21  
> Sean has expressed the wish not to be associated with anything shipping related and we respect that, so he is no longer part of any of my fics.  
> Here he is being replaced by the secret sixth irish lad James. James is an OC character who is basically Gorg from Kevin's mafia stream. A tall bald guy in a white shirt. :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: this is no way true.  
> I can't really explain why I'm writing this. I really don't want to harm anyone. This is just supposed to be some fun.  
> Let's keep this in our corner of the internet.
> 
> Please don't send this to Kevin or Daniel, or their friends/family
> 
> Edit: ok, who of you feckers snitched?
> 
> Dear Daniel, just don't read this, okay?

It was a mistake coming here. Surely.  
He had waited in the park for almost two hours until he gave up. It had been raining for one and a half hours. Water was soaking through his clothes and he felt coldness creeping through his bones, when he decided enough was enough. Kevin gathered himself together and left to wander through the rainy irish streets aimlessly. There was no point in waiting for the bus at that time of day.  
Puddles were in his way like a minefield, but he just needed a walk right now. 

When the rain got stronger, he did the only sensible thing and fled through the next possible entry.  
When he looked up, he found himself staring at the biggest cat he had ever seen.  
The view froze him in spot. 

He was surrounded by cats.  
All stared at him with huge yellow eyes.  
Silently. Waiting. 

The walls were painted in pastel colours. On each table were small yellow flowers and a candle. All of them unlit. 

The smell of coffee hit him and he realised, he was in a coffee shop. 

The only humans there were a grumpy looking elderly man and the very thin and tall barista, who still stood with the back towards him. 

On the table closest to him sat a man whispering to himself in a worried tone:  
"Burried alive and the rest of the decade will be a better one than the other one in the middle of the night when we have a work in progress on the day off the last few weeks of the decade and the last one was a bit of a mess out of the decade and a few weeks ago and we have had a few weeks off-"

He calmed down when a cat jumped onto his lap. 

Finally the barista turned around and as he spotted him, he smiled softly. 

"You must feel terribly cold."

"I'm fine," Kevin said. 

"You can put your jacket, scarf and hat over there, so that they can dry faster."

When he got out of his jacket, it was obvious that the pullover underneath also was hella wet. 

"Wait a moment." 

When he came back, he gave him a green Pullover. "Here. Put mine on."

"Oh, I can't do that."

"You'll get a cold," the barista insisted. 

So he changed quickly and gave him the wet pullover to hang over an empty chair. There were a lot of empty chairs.  
"Thank you." 

"What can I bring you, Sir?" 

"Kevin," Kevin stumbled. 

"I'm afraid we don't have that."

"No, I mean don't call me 'Sir'. Call me Kevin."

"I'm Daniel. Hi."

"Hi."

"Sooo. What can I bring you?" 

"A will to live." 

"Hot chocolate it is," Daniel nodded, scribbled something in his notebook and left, not without giving his costumer a last worried glance. 

Now Kevin had time to have another look around.  
There were plants with dark green leaves in the corner of the room. There were cats lounging around on chairs and on tables and on the floor. 

The noises of hot cocoa being prepared, sounded strangely out of place. 

On the floor also were some half eaten cat toys. He was thankful, that the smell of coffee was a lot stronger than the smell of cats.  
Daniel returned with a huge white cup. When he put the cup down in front of him, he saw that Daniel had made a beautiful heart of cream and cocoa powder.  
Kevin took a tiny sip and felt the warmth run down and into his stomach, where it turned into the feeling of calmness and confidence. Then he took another sip. 

"What is your fecking secret?", he asked, stunned. 

"Cinnamon."  
He winked with a smile. 

"No, I mean, what is your secret of healing my heart like that? " 

"Cinnamon," Daniel repeated. 

"I mean-" 

But Daniel had already turned around and walked back to the counter. 

Kevin watched him clean some utensils, while sipping the best hot cocoa he had ever had. The cinnamon really was key. Now and then Daniel glanced at him, but then acted like he didn't.  
Kevin tried to count the cats, but for some reason he couldn't.  
There were some orange ones, one siam, two completely white ones, several grey striped ones and a small one that was completely black.  
On the bottom of the cup - and against all physics - there were some tiny marshmallows. They had a light strawberry flavour. 

After a while the door opened again and a breeze of coldness entered with an elderly lady.  
Kevin shivered. 

The lady was greeted by happy cat noises from all over the room.  
She was dressed Queen-style with a nice blue jacked and she had an umbrella of the same colour. 

A lot of the cats surrounded her as she sat down. She gave them a round of small treats, as Daniel approached her. 

"Hello, Martha! Welcome back! What can I bring you?" 

"The usual, sweetheart." 

Daniel took a note. "Alright. I'll be right back." 

Then the elderly lady turned and looked straight at Kevin. 

"And what brings you here, my dear?" 

Kevin glanced behind him in case she was talking to someone else, but the third customer was still completely absent and lost somewhere in his mind. 

"The rain brought me in," Kevin said reluctantly. 

"You need to talk a bit louder, sweety. My ears are not what they used to be. I was an elementary school teacher for almost 50 years." 

"Wow." 

"These little shits can be so loud," she added. 

Kevin snorted. Then he said, "I came here because of the rain." 

"Why were you outside in the first place on a day like this? I had to go to get my medicine. Wait until you are old like me. My back hurts since I'm 40."

"My back hurts since I'm 20," Kevin said under his breath. Then he said loudly: "I bought a new camera on e-Bay. But the person I bought it from didn't show up." 

"How rude." 

"Now I have to somehow get my money back."

"I like those new cameras that can change the pictures so it looks like you are smiling. Back in my days we had to use our own face muscles. Or the ones that can make you look pretty.  
Back in my day we were just ugly." 

Then Daniel came back with a plate of hot crepes with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream and a cup of Earl Grey. 

"Thank you, dear," Martha said. 

"You are welcome. Kevin, can I bring you anything else? Maybe some cookies?" 

"No, thank you. I need to get going," Kevin said and reached for his wallet. 

"It's fine. It's on the house," Daniel said. 

"I can't fecking-" 

"No really. It's okay. But feel free to come back any time." 

"Thank you," Kevin said. Then he put on his jacket, hat and scarf and left.  
They shared one last look through the glass door. Then he was gone. 

~~~

When Kevin arrived home and quickly got out of his clothes, he realised that he still had that guy's pullover.  
It smelled of some nice deodorant he didn't know.  
When he realised how he had buried his face in some strange guy's pullover, he put it away with an embarrassed expression.  
Not embarrassed because anyone was watching but embarrassed for himself.  
At least he had an excuse to go back to that coffee shop.  
... And see Daniel again. 

Wait. 

He didn't need an excuse to go to a coffee shop.  
He could go out and drink hot cocoa with marshmallows whenever he wanted because he was an adult.


	2. I'm not naming names

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back to the second chapter.  
> Your comments made me really happy and motivated me to keep writing.  
> Thank you so much!

Kevin washed the pullover the next day. Then he hung it on a chair to dry. 

The day after that, he got some important things done he had been procrastinating for a while. Some bills got paid, some E-Mails got answered. 

On the following day he wrote an E-Mail to that guy from e-bay.  
Then he played some video games.  
Whenever he went to get something to drink or to eat or something else, he stopped in front of the chair with the green pullover on.  
The faint smell of coffee wouldn't leave.  
There also was some cat hair that wouldn't go away. 

On the day after that, tuesday noon, after he came back early from work, Kevin didn't really do anything. He walked around aimlessly through the rooms of his apartment. And every once in a while he caught himself standing in front of the green pullover picking cat hair from it. Sometimes white, sometimes grey, sometimes orange, sometimes black. 

Tuesday almost-evening he finally decided that it was time to bring back the pullover and maybe try some of those cookies, Daniel had been talking about. 

It was unexpectedly hard to find the coffee shop again. Streets on a sunny day have sometimes the tendency to look quite different than on a rainy day. 

There'd been a tree next to it right? And there also had been cars parking in front of it.  
Oh feck. 

Wait, this hole in the street looked familiar. There-

Then he bumped into some guy in a white shirt. He was probably the only other guy walking around at the moment. 

"Sorry," Kevin said. 

"Give me your wallet," the guy said. 

"Feck, no."  
Kevin didn't even look up. 

The guy was huge and massive. He suddenly felt like it didn't seem like a prank. Then he saw the light of a streetlamp reflect in a pocket knife. He couldn't look at the guys face, just the knife. The knife that was very clean and shiny and much too close to him. 

"I said: Give me. Your wallet." 

Suddenly Kevin surprised both of them and started running. 

He heard heavy steps behind him.  
Kevin ran like he hadn't run since kindergarten anymore, when he had followed this ice-cream truck, but that was another story.  
Even after the breathing and stomping behind him had stopped, he kept running. 

After his feet already had started to hurt quite badly, he finally found himself in front of the right coffee shop and couldn't believe it. He already knew he was going to feel very miserable the next morning. Kevin took a moment to calm himself down. To breathe again. 

He looked up and was able to read the sign for the first time. 

The Edge Of The Universe

Well, it sounded not like the kind of coffee shop he would usually visit.  
It was weird, wasn't it? 

Before entering, he glanced through the window. This time all of the tables were empty. Well, there were one or the other cat on a table.  
But there weren't any other humans.

He entered. The cats watched him quietly as he sat down at the table he had chosen the last time. He put the bag with the pullover in it on the floor next to him. 

Daniel appeared at the small door in the back of the room. 

"Hello, Kevin. How are you?", he asked cheerfully as he approached him. 

"Fine. You?" 

"Good, thanks. What can I bring you this time?" 

"Do you have a bit of courage with sprinkles?", Kevin asked and looked at him like a cat would look at a shiny Christmas tree. 

Daniel gave a short laugh.  
"Yeah. I 'll see what I can do," he said and wrote something down. 

Kevin watched him go back to the counter and put a few things together. 

"What do you have on your mind?", Daniel asked without looking up from what he was doing. 

"Nothing. Really. Just vacuum up there," Kevin said and laughed nervously. 

"Look at this little girl." Daniel pointed at the tiny black cat. "When she hides somewhere dark or stands in front of a dark background, you can only see her eyes.  
Sometimes you stare into the void, but sometimes the void stares back at you.  
And I think this is beautiful." 

The said cat carefully approached him. 

"What's her name?", Kevin asked.  
He reached for her but from his position he couldn't touch her. She sat down just out of reach for him and watched him curiously. 

"She doesn't have a name yet," Daniel said. 

"Isn't that a bit unfair?" 

"You could name her."  
He brought two cups of hot cocoa to the table as well as a jar of cookies in different forms and sizes. 

"Me?" 

"Yes, she is the only one who likes you here." 

"Okay, ouch," Kevin said in a mockingly hurt tone to hide the fact that he was actually a bit hurt. 

"No! I mean - I - She is the only one of the cats that likes you," Daniel said, as he sat down opposite of him. 

"Is there anyone else in this room who likes me?" 

"You are distracting from my first question." 

He sighed. "Fine. I've been feeling fecking down, if you really want to know." 

"Why do you feel down?" 

He shrugged. 

"Alright, I know exactly, what will make you feel better. It's your hot cocoa. Drink it, before it gets cold." 

He drank a sip. It immediately made him feel warm and somehow safe. He hadn't even realised how clenched his jaw had been before.  
Then he tried the cookies.  
One was like a tiny apple pie.  
The next one had chunks of white chocolate and cranberrys.  
The one after that was filled with soft nougat cream. 

"Feeling better?", Daniel asked. He had watched him eating with quiet amusement. 

"Yes." 

In a swift move, Daniel lit the candle between them. 

It had that artificial smell of no specific sweetness and it had probably some nice name like 'oceansbreath' or 'applecinnamon', Kevin thought.  
He picked up the candle and read what was written on it.  
"Ah, nothing captures the scent of a family that's falling apart like a little 'Gingerbread Broken Home'," Kevin said with a small laugh. 

"Very Christmassy."

He looked up again, as he placed the candle back on the table, and saw the small flame reflect in Daniels eyes.  
He was completely mesmerised for a long moment.  
They both smiled shyly at each other. When did their faces get this close?  
The moment was broken when Kevin literally got jump scared by the small black cat jumping on his lap. 

He stared at it. Then he touched the soft fur very carefully. 

"I told you she likes you." 

"What does she want?" 

The little thing was so small and warm and delicate and fragile.  
It didn't even hurt, when she unexpectedly sunk her tiny little teeth into his middle finger. 

"She demands her name," Daniel said. 

Kevin bit his lips, but didn't have the heart to push the little creature away. 

"A name...," Kevin said. 

Cat  
Kitty  
Shithead  
Motherfecker  
Clawy McBiteface  
... Feck feck feck. 

Naming an actual living creature was a lot harder than naming a video game character. 

"Huntress Fury," he said aloud. 

Daniel laughed.  
The cat made unhappy cat noises, now also having her claws sunk into his arm. 

"No," Kevin said, "How about 'Burnt Marshmallow'?"

"I like that one," Daniel grinned. "And I think she likes it, too." 

Burnt Marshmallow was already fallen asleep in Kevin's lap. They watched her breathing in and out. She moved her tiny paws in her sleep. 

"I'm affraid I can't leave until she wakes up." 

Daniel nodded in agreement. 

They spend some time talking about nothing in particular. It was very quiet around them. There were no other costumers this day. And the other cats also were quite sleepy.  
Now and then they would fall into silence. But it was never the uncomfortable kind. 

"I've been attacked by some guy with a knife earlier today by the way," Kevin mentioned very casually. 

"Oh no! What happened? Let me bring some more cookies for you after this shock." 

"There was just some burglar on the streets. And he wanted my wallet."  
Kevin stopped to bite into another cookie. 

"What happened then?" 

"Well, there was this enormous guy. He wanted my wallet. Naturally, I didn't want to give it to him. But then he pulled out a knife." 

"And then?" 

"I obviously had to fight him with my bare hands. Lucky me I have the black belt in Marstall arts." 

"How very brave of you-" 

"I could show you some tricks some time, if you want me to. Why are you laughing?" 

"You just called it 'Marstall arts'. It's 'Marshall arts'."

"That's how the professionals say it." 

After more or less of an hour, the cat woke up again and left to fight a bug in the right behind corner of the room with half of the other cats. 

"Thank you very much," Kevin said, as he stood up. 

"I thank you, too." 

He grabbed his bag and paid, giving Daniel a generous tip.  
The barista wanted to refuse, but Kevin insisted. 

"Buy cat food or something. They all seem fecking hungry." 

"Okay, I will. Get home safely." 

"You too." 

Daniel smiled and waved. 

Kevin kept looking at him, when he walked out the door and almost bumped into another pedestrian.  
Through the window their eyes kept following each other until Kevin had to disappear around the corner. 

This night, Kevin didn't have his usual nightmares about being eaten by zombies. 

The next morning he realised that he didn't have many clean clothes left.  
To be precise: almost none.  
Except for... When Kevin opened the bag he had let just fall on the floor in his bedroom when he came home last night, he saw, that he still had Daniels pullover. 

He smiled quietly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn't an advertisement but that candle exists.
> 
> Let me know what you think so far.


	3. Storytime

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much again for all your lovely comments <3  
> They make me so incredibly happy and really keep me going.
> 
> Shout out to TaliaThePigeon who mentioned a really Kevin name for a cat. I really wanted to use that one and I built the rest of the chapter around it. It just sorta happened. So thank you, fellow bird person.^^
> 
> Aaaand from this chapter you might be able to guess which game is one of my favourites Kevin ever played. Yeah, you might guess, but I'm just going to tell you: It's Goat Simulator.  
> This was a nice chance to rewatch his videos.  
> A part of this is from the game.
> 
> Now, please have fun with this chapter.

It was Saturday, when Kevin decided, that he could definitely reward himself, for finally getting a new camera with maybe a piece of cake. He didn't know what kind of cake. But he did know a very specific place he would like to eat it at. 

So he took the bag with the pullover - and forgot it in front of the door before he went outside. 

This time the coffee shop was a bit easier to find.  
Although first when he put the name into Google Maps, it showed no results. After that he just started walking. It was weird. Getting home had neither of both times been a problem.  
His thoughts wandered from the question which cake he wanted, back to Daniel. He wondered how his week had been going.  
Suddenly he spotted a cat he thought he recognized and followed it for a while, until it suddenly disappeared.  
But then he already stood in front of his new favourite coffee shop.  
When he entered, Daniel had just brought Martha her Earl Grey and her Crêpes. 

"Hello, Kevin. How are you today?", Daniel asked cheerfully. 

"I'm okay. You?" 

"I'm great. What would you like?" 

"I wish I had more creativity. I'm completely failing at finding a new project," Kevin said as he let himself fall on one of the oddly comfortable wooden chairs. 

"Okay..., I'll see, what I can do," Daniel said with a smirk as he wrote something down. 

After the Barista had disappeared behind the counter again, Kevin leaned over to the only other guest. "Hello, there, Martha. How are you today?" 

She looked up from her Crêpes. Then she put two orange cats that had tried to attack her plate back on the floor.  
"Oh, you know how it is. You don't get younger.... What was your name again?" 

"Kevin." 

"Oh, I had a lot of those in my classes. Always very bad.  
Truly evil children.... Devil. Children." For a moment her expression changed and she looked like she had war flashbacks. 

"I'm positive that I was a nice kid," Kevin said with confidence. "I wasn't very often at school anyway." 

"Speaking of children, where is that one coming from?", Martha asked. 

"I lost my mammy," a young girl, that had suddenly appeared in front of them, said. She was very short and wore a pink jacket and pink boots, and she had long brown hair under a pink striped hat that hid half her face. 

"Should we call the police?" Daniel was in two steps back next to Kevin. 

"We can't trust the police," Martha said. 

"But-" 

"She's right, you know?", Kevin said. 

"We should get rid of the child, before someone finds her here and assumes the wrong things." , Martha said, ignoring the terrified expression of the child. 

"Martha, no." 

"Does this establishment have a cellar?" 

"Kevin, no!" 

"How old is she even?", Martha asked. 

"Old enough to work in the coal mines." 

"Your attitude is very concerning," Daniel said helplessly. 

Kevin shrugged. 

"Uncle Kevin and Lady Martha are just joking. Of course we are going to help you to get your mother back. Where do you live and how did you get here?" Daniel turned and asked the girl in a much friendlier tone.

"I was at a bakery with my mammy. Then there was a cat and I followed the cat. When I turned around, mammy was not there. And then I saw that here are even more cats. And now I'm here," she said between small sobs. 

"What's your name?", Daniel asked. 

"Emma." 

"And what's your mammy's name?" 

"Lauren." 

"Surname?" 

"Murphy." 

The adults shared a look. 

"What was the bakery's name?", Martha asked. 

"I don't know." 

Daniel took a deep breath and asked: "Okay. I have an idea. Please, don't make me regret this. Can you take care of her for a moment, while I go through the telephone book." 

"Why can't I make the phone calls?", Kevin asked. 

"I don't think you are very suitable for this task." 

"What are you even going to ask. 'Excuse me ma'am, would you please take a moment to count your children? I just happened to have found one. If this kid belongs to you, please pick it up at The Edge Of The Universe. '?" 

"And that's exactly why you are not making the phone calls." 

"How is getting post working for you?" 

Daniel sighed. "...Not good. Kevin, please watch this kid for a while, okay?" 

He sighed. "Fine." 

Daniel left to make the phone calls in the back room. 

"Sooo. Do you like games?", Kevin asked as he sat down between Martha and Emma. Before that, he had taken his cake from the counter, which Daniel had forgotten there.  
Hmm chocolate. 

"No," the kid said. 

"I can't work like that."  
Kevin already looked very exhausted. 

"Would you like a cookie?", Martha asked. 

The girl shook her head and pursed her lips. 

"What would you like to do then?" 

"Please, tell me a story." 

Martha took another sip from her tea.  
"Oh, not me. I've told enough stories in my life." 

Kevin leaned back, crossed his arms and looked around."Then we have to do something else. How about we set fire to-" 

"Pretty please?", the girl said and they could see tears forming in her huge brown eyes. 

"Hell no," said Martha. 

"Alright fine," Kevin finally said and scratched his head, "Do you know the story of Old Goat's Mountain?" 

"No, I don't." 

"Once upon a time there was a Microwave."

"A Microwave?" 

"Yes, Martha, a Microwave. Please ask your questions at the end. Where was I? Ah, yes, the Microwave..." 

The girl giggled, which made him smile as well. 

He cleared his throat dramatically and continued, "The Microwaves are the most evil constructs in this world. They are pure chaotic evil, and revel in chaos and destruction, using their evil powers to embue food with entropy." 

"She is a child," Martha threw in. 

"Ah yes. You are right. Sorry." 

Martha leaned forward and said: "Entropy is the measure of a system's thermal energy per unit temperature that is unavailable for doing useful work.  
Please continue." 

"Alright. So the Microwaves' purpose in this world is to create a black hole to consume the entire universe, but so far they've only reached a point where the molecules in the food move more rapidly, causing it to heat up. 

That's by the way the reason, you shouldn't put living creatures in the microwave to dry them.  
Don't ever put a knife, a grape or a snail in there. Just saying. 

Anyway. 

Their aim however is that they one day will consume both, the living - and the dead. 

You should know, that Microwaves have two abilities: Pizza and Explosion. 

This is the story about an epic journey to find a misplaced valued family artefact. 

... And other epic quests like collecting apples... And shooting mermaids."

When Daniel came back, Martha was fast asleep. He stopped and watched the scene before him. The cats were assembled around the three of them, like they were listening to the story. One of the white ones was snuggled in Emma's arms like a stuffed animal. Burnt Marshmallow lazily played with Kevin's shoelaces. Four cats were sleeping on Martha. The rest sat around them and watched curiously.  
Daniel leaned against the doorframe and listened to the end of the story with an absent smile. 

"...And then the Microwave was inevitably trapped in a water mills' spinning wheel. And if it didn't shatter to a thousand pieces, it is still trapped in the forever spinning hell.  
The End." 

"This was the best story I ever heard. Thank you." 

"It was an honour - Hey, are you okay, Dan?" 

"Oh. Yeah. Yes, I am great. Absolutely fantastic."  
He sounded like he had just woken up from a nice dream. 

"Another Story!" Emma clapped her hands excitedly.  
The cat in her arms didn't even mind. 

"Do we still have time?", Kevin asked, looking at Daniel. 

"Wait, is Martha still breathing?", Daniel asked worriedly as he approached them. 

Kevin carefully reached over and felt her pulse. He made a worried face for a moment. "Yes, she is. She is fine." 

"Have you found my mammy?", Emma asked. 

"Yes, I have, she'll be there in about five to ten minutes to pick you up." 

"Okay. That's not enough time for another story. Are you sure, you don't want a cookie?" 

"Maybe one. Thank you... What is that cats name?", she asked as the white cat finally jumped down from her lap when she reached for the cookie. 

Daniel shook his head. "She doesn't have a name, yet. Would you like to name her, dear?"

"Yes!... Hmm."  
She thought for a long time. 

"Her fur looks a lot like snow, doesn't it," Daniel tried to help. 

"I think I want to name her after my favourite character from Kevins' story. Sir Fecker the third." 

"Kevin!", Daniel called. 

"I'm so proud of her," Kevin said. 

Then the door burst open and a small blonde woman ran inside and hugged the girl. 

"Oh my dear Lord! Emma! Are you alright?" 

"I'm fine." 

"Thank you so much for taking care of my daughter." 

"She is a really nice girl," Daniel said. 

"Are you okay, honey?", she asked. 

"Yes, Mammy." 

"Please, never run away again. Okay? " 

"No, Mammy," the girl said, tears running down her cheeks. 

The woman looked up again. "You don't know how much I- Is your grandma still breathing?", Lauren asked. 

"Yeah, she is fine." 

"I wanted to say...," she slowly stood up again. "Say I- I- what is this place?" 

"This is The Edge Of The Universe," Daniel said proudly. 

"This sounds nice." 

"Would you like to have a coffee or maybe a piece of cake after that shock?", Daniel asked, already getting a piece. 

She noticed a grey striped cat putting a paw on her shoe. A small smile flickered across her face. Then she caught herself. Lauren shook her head sadly.  
"We have to get back. I have a job interview tomorrow." 

"Let me just give you a piece for the way," Daniel said, already putting the piece in a box. 

"I really can't-" 

"I have to insist. It's on the house." 

"Thank you. For everything." 

Daniel and Kevin shared a look. "We are glad, we could help." 

"Goodbye then and thank you so much. But we have to go. It is also well past her bedtime," Lauren said. 

"It was no problem at all."

"Emma, say goodbye to your friends," the mother said, as she took her daughters hand and pulled her in the direction of the door.

"Bye Kevin, bye Daniel, bye Martha, bye Sir Fe-" 

"GOODBYE TO YOU, TOO. Please, feel free to visit us again any time," Daniel interrupted her, panicking. 

"Bye," Kevin said next to him, waving a hand. 

Martha woke up from the noise.  
She lokked around in confusion, before she put the cats, that had been sleeping on her, on the floor and stood up. Her bones made their own loud noises.

"When you two adopt your own child, you need to be a lot more strict with them," she said, while putting some money on the table. "Otherwise they'll just do whatever they want. -I have to get home and take my meds for my knees and the eyes and the ears and the rest of the head and stop laughing you'll soon enough get old. Good night." 

"Good night," Daniel and Kevin said simultaneously and watched her leave. 

"I think I should be closing for today. The cats are tired." 

"Yeah. Let me help you clean up." 

"Oh it's fine." 

"It's no problem at all." 

"Okay. Erm. But you still have to pay for your cake." 

"Oh. Yes. Sorry. Here it is. Keep the change. That's also for the cookie." 

"Thanks. I... Yes. Thanks," Daniel couldn't look him in the eyes, as he put the money away. He fled back to the backroom. 

Kevin put the chairs together, brought the used plates and cups to the kitchen and then collected the cat toys.  
Daniel smiled at him, thankfully. 

"What are you thinking about," he asked as Kevin smiled back. 

"If we had a child, it really would be fecking spoiled." 

"You are probably right."  
Daniel opened his mouth again, like he wanted to add something.  
Something really witty.  
Something like: 'You have to take me out before we plan how we raise our children. How about at 4 tomorrow?'  
But he didn't.  
He only bit his lips and focused on the floor. 

"So... I should get going," Kevin said after a while of them just standing in front of each other and not talking. 

"Yeah. You should. It's getting really late. I still have to mop the floor, though." 

"Okay, then... I'll see you next time. Good night." 

"Yeah. Good night." 

"Sweet dreams." 

"... And sleep tight," Daniel replied. 

"And you know how the saying goes: Don't let the bed bugs eat you. - wait." 

They both laughed. 

"I hope I'll see you again, soon," Daniel whispered after Kevin had closed the door behind him. 

When Kevin arrived home, his eyes fell on the bag, he had forgotten next to the door. He picked it up, unpacked the pullover and put it back on the chair.  
He had decided, that he would also forget to bring it back next time.  
He had also decided, that 'next time' should be soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who can tell me the title of the video Kevins story is from without looking it up?  
> You only win the honour of being a good fan.
> 
> I'm joking. 
> 
> But I'm curiuos if anyone would know.


	4. Squeaky mouse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the next chapter.  
> Big Thanks to AbundantiaTheWitch for teaching me Irish in the last chapter ;)  
> And thank you all so much for your incredibly nice comments, they mean so much to me!
> 
> I'm so happy that this fandom got so much more active!  
> And I appreciate you all so much <3

There was a lot of stuff to do at the gamestore and then he filmed his first few videos with the new camera. One each day. 

On Wednesday afternoon, when he came home, he was too lazy to prepare something to eat. Then there was the thing about calling and ordering. He usually tried to be confident most of the time, but really he hated talking on the phone.  
So going out it was. 

Maybe some Burgers would be nice. Or one good dry Pizza Margherita. 

Usually he didn't like leaving the house either, but this time, he didn't even think about it. 

He was completely lost in thoughts as he walked around the rainy Irish streets.  
He hadn't had pizza in a while.  
Pizza is round.  
Pancakes are round.  
Pancakes fit perfectly to hot chocolate.  
Daniel makes the best hot chocolate ever.  
Daniel...  
Daniel. 

He sighed, as his feet kept carrying him. 

Kevin walked past a pet store, not really looking at what was displayed.  
Then he went back and entered it anyway.  
When he arrived at the coffee shop, he was greeted by Burnt Marshmallow, who immediately tried to climb up his leg, sharp claws cutting through his trousers like a butter knife cuts through... well. Butter. 

"Hey, Daniel, I-" 

The other cats looked at him curiously as well. He was watched by more eyes than he could count. 

"Careful. They recognise the bag. You should move very slowly, now," Daniel said instead of a greeting. 

Kevin froze. 

"Very carefully," Daniel repeated in a loud whisper. 

Kevin nodded, as the cats already closed the circle around him. 

Daniel slowly approached him. "Don't freak out, now, but-" 

This made Kevin freak out and he yeeted the bag into a corner of the room. 

The cats jumped and ran and shredded it into tiny pieces, revealing a medium sized fluffy mouse, that made squeaky noises when bitten into. 

"This was for Burnt Marshmallow," Kevin said, shoulders hanging. 

"I'm sure she appreciates it." 

The mouse squeaked loudly, like in pain. 

"I sure hope she does." 

"Sooo. How are you?", Daniel asked. 

"I'm good. How are you?" 

"Are you sure?", Daniel asked and he sounded somehow worried. But Kevin just shrugged and sat down at his usual table, watching the cats fight over the mouse, from the corner of his eyes. 

Since Martha wasn't there yet and all the other tables were empty, Daniel slid on the chair opposite of Kevin with a deep sigh. 

"Would you tell me something nice of your last week," he asked. 

"Yeah. Sure. Had to kick out some drunk guys at work at the gamestore. They got really fecking angry. But it still was kinda fecking funny." 

"Oh.... Anything else?" 

"I made a YouTube channel," Kevin said. 

"Oh, congratulations. That sounds awesome! I love YouTube." 

"It is quite awesome." 

They just looked at each other quietly for a while. 

"... You seem very tired," Daniel said then. 

"I'm a bit sleep deprived, but it's entirely my fault.  
It's tough work playing old video games, but someone's gotta do it. I'm kind of a hero in a way." 

Daniel giggled. "You are."  
Then he lit the candle on the table between them. 

Kevin watched the flame flicker, then he asked: "... And what do you do in your free time?" 

"I actually don't have much -" 

In that moment, the door swung open and Lauren stormed in. Daniel jumped from the chair and his movement blew out the candle. 

"Hello, Lauren! How are you?" 

"I'm so exhausted." 

"Oh no, what happened?" 

"Do you have any idea, why Emma could be affraid to be in the kitchen?" 

"Do you have a microwave?", Kevin asked. 

"Yes, why?" 

"Nothing." 

"Never mind. She'll get over it eventually. She's at daycare now, by the way. And she won't stop talking about you," she said, facing Kevin. 

"I usually don't talk to children," he said. 

"But you seem to be quite good with them."  
Lauren leaned against a table. Then she seemed to change her mind and she sat down. 

"What would you like to have?", Daniel asked. 

She hid her face behind her hands for a moment and then took a deep breath.  
"I wish I had more patience. It's just... Home is-" 

"Do you have problems at home?", Daniel asked softly.  
Kevin couldn't help but think that if he ever had to go to a therapist, that was exactly what he wanted them to sound like. 

"It seems like everything we do is fighting," Lauren said. 

"I'm sorry. Let me get you something to drink first." 

"Yeah. But I don't drink - You know. " 

"That's no problem-" 

"Apple juice. Pure." 

"Now tell me what is wrong," he said as he started preparing a glass of just apple juice. 

"...we wanted a child so badly, but since we have her... It's all so stressfull.  
This sounds so bad, I'm so sorry.  
I really love Emma. I really do.  
...I'm just so tired and on the edge all the time.  
And I love my wife. But I'm tired and she is sad and I'm so scared about her work and-  
I just wish everything could be normal again. "

She looked like she was about to cry. But then there was one of the cats sitting in front of her. It had grey stripes and had only one eye, but it was the fluffiest cat, you could imagine. And it was an absolute unit. 

"She wants to be picked up," Daniel said softly. 

Lauren hesitated, but then she picked up the cat and it immediately started to make sounds like a broken lawnmower. It was calming and concerning in equal amounts.  
Lauren's expression changed slowly. She gently wrapped her arms around the huge cat and burried her face in the soft fur. 

"Do you know what I think you two need?  
A romantic Dinner," Daniel said softly. 

"I can't remember when we went out the last time?", Lauren said, while snuggling the cat. 

Daniel wrote something down, before he looked up again: "You should try to have some alone time.  
I'll be there every once in a while.  
And Martha probably too.  
Leave Emma with a friend and take your night off." 

"This sounds nice," she said, but then she hesitated. "But..." 

"Do you have any food or drink, that is very special to you?" Daniel asked and it was impossible to go back from there. 

"On our first date, we ate Irish Cream Cake."  
She had an absent smile as she seemed to remember that special date with her now-wife. 

"That sounds very Irish. I like it," Kevin said. 

Daniel wrote it down. 

"Does this cute little thing have a name?", she asked more the cat than Daniel. 

"No, she doesn't. - Would you like to give her one?" 

"Schrödinger," she answered without hesitation. 

"Oh, Schrödinger was the doctor. You are thinking about Schrödingers Monster," Kevin said. 

"While unobserved, Schrödinger is both. The Doctor and the Monster," Daniel added and Kevin smiled at him. 

"I think it suits her well, because she is very passive. If she didn't constantly make noises, I wouldn't believe she was still with us." 

"So, would you like her to keep this name?" 

"Yeah, I'll stick with Schrödinger. My wife is a physicist and she works a lot with these quantum thingies. She talks a lot about him - and that guy from Breaking Bad." 

~~~

After finishing her chocolate chip muffin, Lauren went home, but not before thanking Daniel repeatedly and taking a dozen selfies with the cat.  
Kevin was still inside, when Daniel hung up the 'closed' - sign.

"You need a vacuum cleaner," Kevin said, as he flung a broom across the floor. 

"If you keep helping me like this, I should think about starting...."  
He drifted off. Then he cleared his throat nervously.  
Kevin acted like he didn't notice.

Daniel washed a few utensils and cleaned the counter while silently humming a cheerful melody.  
He slowly danced across the floor, and Kevin watched his movements, like hypnotised.  
How could he be so graceful and at the same time so... 

"What?", Daniel stopped and looked at him questioningly.

"Erm... So... none of these but three have names?"  
He made a gesture in the vague direction of the cats. 

"All of them have names. Several names even." 

"Isn't it quite hard for them to learn them?" 

"Bold of you to assume any cat would respond to any given name." 

They laughed shortly.  
Soon after that, the coffee shop was ready for the next day.  
All the cats had resumed to their sleeping positions and Daniel turned the lights off. 

"Would you like to go for a walk?", Kevin asked quietly as if not to wake anyone. 

"... Sure. Why not?"  
Daniel couldn't hide a bright smile. 

They walked around as the sun set behind the tall buildings. The sky turned pink, then purple and finally black. The clouds seemed to flee and give space to the lights they'd been hiding.  
They could see a planet which was probably either Mercury or Venus, half of the moon and two or three planes.  
They walked close to each other, as Kevin talked about his channel excitedly and Daniel smiled and nodded. He felt more calm and content than he had in a long time. 

As it got later, the sky cleared up a bit more. 

They sat down on a bench on a small green spot and just watched the night sky. 

Kevin pointed at the stars above them.  
"This over there is the polar bear. And this is the giraffe." 

He glanced at Daniel as the less Irish one giggled.  
"This doesn't sound right, but I don't know enough about astronomy..." 

"And this over there is the great fecker." 

"This is the moon."  
Daniel laughed softly and shuffled a bit closer.  
Maybe because it was getting cold, or maybe this wasn't the only reason. 

Kevin yawned and stretched his arms. Then he let one arm rest around Daniels shoulders with a side glance.  
He couldn't be one hundred percent sure, if he minded, but either way, Daniel rested his head against his shoulder.  
His very soft hair tickled his skin.  
He didn't mind at all. 

"It is very kind of you to do this for these women," Kevin said after a while. 

"I really do hope that I can help.  
I've never made one of those Irish Cream Cakes before." 

Kevin smiled at him widely.  
"I could teach you.  
I'm a bit of a chef."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh. Cliffhanger.  
> If we don't get another baking bad video, we have to write our own.  
> Sorry, I don't make the rules.
> 
> Thanks for reading so far <3


	5. Baking Bad -Irish Cream Cake Edition

"I could teach you.  
I'm a bit of a chef." 

Daniel looked like he was about to pass out. "This would be very... nice of you," he said. 

"It's no problem at all." 

"I could buy all the ingredients. Would you come here, tomorrow after your work?"  
*Please*

"Yes, of course I would. Do you mean tomorrow-tomorrow or tomorrow-today? It's after midnight." 

"It's after midnight already? I have to go now!" , Daniel jumped to his feet, panicking. 

"It's like one minute after. Please, stay a bit longer."

"No, I can't. I have to go. I'm so sorry. I'll see you today." 

"I will be there." 

As a response, Daniel gave him one of his smiles that could make you think that there could be no evil in this world. 

Neither of them was sure how exactly to say goodbye.  
Should they just wave at each other like idiots? Should they handshake? Should they invent their own Bro-handshake? 

As Kevin was still sitting on the bench, unable to make a decision of what to do with himself, Daniel suddenly leaned over, and hugged him.  
He felt very warm and soft. His chin rested on Kevin's shoulder for a moment. 

"Goodnight. I'll see you in a few hours," he whispered so close to his ear, that his breath tingled his skin. Then he stepped back. 

"Goodnight," was the only thing, Kevin could manage to say. His heart raced like it was chased by killercats. 

He watched him turn, give him one last of these heart tugging smiles and then disappear into the darkness. 

When Daniel was really gone, he realised that he had stopped breathing.  
He gasped for air. As he stood up and started to walk home, he touched his face, unable to process what just happened.  
He felt Daniels touch still lingering on his skin. The smile he gave him, that made him think everything was going to be okay. The distant scent of coffee. 

~~~

"Thank you so much for helping me out, here," Daniel said, as soon as Kevin entered the café, hours later. 

Kevin hadn't caught much sleep. And after an energy drink he felt tired AND nervous.  
"Don't worry about it. See? As a real chef, I brought my own cook book. It has my name written on it. At least I'm pretty sure, I wrote my name on it somewhere. Ah! There it is." 

"I'm pretty sure, it says 'Key in'." 

"No, it says 'Kevin'. Now, do you want to learn something or not?", he said as he threw his jacket and scarf over an empty chair dramatically. 

"Let me show you, where the magic will happen, then," Daniel said and led him into the small kitchen. 

There wasn't much space for both of them. But maybe this was good thing.  
It seemed very clean but somehow cozy. 

Daniel handed Kevin a black apron and then turned on the radio which was standing dangerously close to the edge of a cupboard. Something cheerful started playing. Probably Charts. 

"Preheat the oven to 165 degrees," Kevin said after finding the right page which he had marked with an old parking ticket. 

"Great, you already got Celsius. It's always a pain in the ass to start calculating stuff," Daniel said. 

"Yeah, I calculated it in my head just for you right now from 438.15 Kevin.... What?" 

"Did you just say 438.15 Kevin." 

"Yes, it is practically named after me. That's how the real chefs say it. - What are you googling now?" 

Daniel looked up from his phone. "How the fuck did you get the numbers correct?" 

Kevin shrugged. 

"I wonder if I should be affraid of you."  
In Daniels voice was more admiration than fear, though. 

Kevin just laughed as an answer.  
"Next we need a yellow cake mix which we need to combine with some pudding mix," he read. 

"Here it is. Oh, I think we need a bigger bowl." 

Burned Marshmallow slipped into the kitchen as they searched for a bigger bowl. 

When Daniel almost fell over her, Kevin picked her up and put her into the aprons' front pocket. 

"Don't squish her," Daniel said. 

"No, she is fine." 

"Are you sure?" 

"Yes, she is holding the eggs warm." 

"Please tell me, you didn't-" 

"Oh, yes, I did." 

Daniel chose to ignore it and soon he found what they had searched for at the back of one of the cupboards. "Here is a bigger bowl." 

Kevin continued reading, while Daniel mixed the dry ingredients: "Mix in 4 eggs, 1/4 cup of water, 1/2 cup oil and 3/4 cup of Irish cream liquor." 

"I have the feeling, you want to add the eggs yourself." 

"Yes, I have my own chef-method." 

"Alright. I'll get the glass, then."

"I personally think that cake tastes a lot better, when it is crunchy," Kevin said, while Daniel filled a glass with water and then reached for the oil. 

"You dropped eggshells in there, didn't you," Daniel said without turning around. Then he watched him exploding the third egg, while internally cringing. And then he shushed Kevin aside and fished the shells out.  
Kevin looked very disappointed. 

"Let's do the last one together," Daniel said and without further explanation he wrapped his arms around Kevin from behind and led his hands to perfectly crack open the last egg. 

Kevin stared at the shell-les eggy liquid in amazement, while Daniel awkwardly moved away from him again.  
"What is the next step?" 

"Beat 5 minutes at high speed."  
Kevin stood in front of him with a smile and let his knuckles crack. 

"The batter. Not me," Daniel laughed, raising his hands in defense. 

"Well, I don't know. It doesn't specify." 

"Kevin. No." 

"I think I should punch you anyway just to be sure." 

"Don't punch me - it will wake up Burnt Marshmallow."

Kevin looked down at the small black cat.  
Burnt Marshmallow was still sleeping in the aprons' pocket. 

"You are right. We can still hit each other later.... The next step is: Pour batter over nuts in pan.  
-We forgot the nuts." 

"Are you sure you didn't think about the nuts the whole time?"

"I'm a very Catholic boi." 

"A minute ago you suggested that we punch each other for five minutes." 

"Wait. Now I forgot how much it was again."

"It's 1 1/2 cup of chopped pecan nuts." 

They chopped the nuts and added them. 

"Bake in preheated oven for 70 minutes. That's quite long isn't it?", Kevin said and grinned. 

"Actually-" 

"Protip: It goes a lot faster, when you turn up full heat." 

"Kevin, no!" 

"Kevin, yes."  
Daniel had to make sure that the oven's settings were correct and then they moved to the next part. 

"In a sauce pan combine butter, 1/4 cup of water and 2 cups of sugar.  
Bring to a boil and continue boiling for 5 minutes, stirring constantly", Kevin read. 

They did that more or less. 

"It is easier if you use a spoon," Daniel said. 

"That's the Chef-way," Kevin said and continued to swing the pan around. 

Daniel sighed dramatically and looked the other way. 

"Now that it has a pretty colour, we should go on to the next step. Would you hand me the book over, please?" 

"Yes, it has the colour of Burnt Marshmallow." 

"And Burnt Marshmallow is a very pretty cat. - Next we have to remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup Irish cream." 

"Yeah, we are not using Irish cream. Because Lauren doesn't drink. Remember? " 

"But it's no Irish cream cake then." 

"It'll be Irish, because we are making it." 

"Yeah. You are right. I'm 100% Irish. I can take a little bit of my Irishness and squeeze it in there." 

"Please don't." 

"You are right. We also used Irish butter. That's enough Irishness." 

Daniel followed the last steps, but he used normal cream.

Suddenly 'ring of fire' started playing on the radio.  
Kevin started singing while waiting for Daniel to clean up the kitchen and standing in the way. 

"Sorry, if I'm annoying," he said, when he saw Daniel staring at him. 

"You sound like an actual angel." 

"I know I'm irresistible." 

"Would you consider singing at the café? Maybe to help get some new customers?" 

"Feck no," he answered panicked. 

"Oh, sorry - I didn't mean to-" 

"It's fine. I- to be honest, I can't sing in front of many people. When they are just staring at me. It just doesn't fecking work." 

"Okay. Sure. That's understandable." 

"And it burns burns burns...," Kevin sang quietly.  
But he smiled. 

~~~

"The cake looks fecking beautiful."  
Kevin stood behind him and glanced over his shoulder after Daniel had applied the topping. It wasn't visible anymore that it was half burnt. (SOMEONE had changed the heating of the oven.)  
Daniel added flowers of marzipan and more cream, biting his tongue.

"I hope they'll like it," he said.

"Do you know what else looks beautiful?"  
Kevin's voice was suddenly very close to Daniels ear. 

"What?" His breathing hitched. 

"PS1 Hagrid." 

Daniel almost snorted on the cake.  
He turned around and leaned against the table. Kevin stood very close to him. He had flour in his hear and on his face. Daniel raised a hand and carefully cleaned Kevin's face. 

Kevin cleared his throat. "Would you like to come over later and play some PS-" 

In that moment the phone started ringing and Daniel jumped. "I'm terribly sorry - I have to take this." 

In hushed tones, he answered the call and shushed Kevin out of the kitchen. 

"And that's why I never married," Martha just told Lauren, when Kevin reentered the room.  
Lauren looked terrified.  
The women were sitting in opposite corners of the room.  
The younger one looked a bit like she had cried, but maybe he was just imagining that.  
The cats seemed like they had picked sides. Two sat in Lauren's corner and the rest sat in Martha's corner.  
They nodded at each other as a greeting.  
Kevin put Burnt Marshmallow back on the floor who immediately started to chase after a fly like a very black and very tiny lightning bolt. 

"Didn't you have a doctor's appointment?", Daniel asked the elderly lady, when he entered the room. 

"Ah, yes. The lungs I think. This, my dear girl, is what happens when you smoke like a chimney for forty years." 

"I don't smoke," Lauren said weakly. 

"Also your hip, Martha," Daniel reminded her. 

"Also my hip. I just came here very quick to say hello to the cats and get an Earl Grey to drive," she said as she stood up. 

"To go," Lauren corrected her. 

"Not with that hip, sweetheart." 

~~~

When Martha opened the door to leave with her 'Earl Grey To Drive', a woman in her midforties walked past her. She had long black beautifully braided hair, and wore a long dark jacket.  
And she was holding Emma's hand. 

"I thought you were joking when you said, you wanted to meet me at 'The Edge Of The Universe'." 

"I wasn't. But I thought you wanted to bring Emma to Tara. Hi, sweety." 

"Hi, Mammy." 

"Tara is sick today. And the babysitter doesn't answer her phone. Also Emma hasn't finished her homework yet," Noemi said. 

Daniel shared a look with Kevin. He shrugged. 

"Hello, Kevin," Emma squealed cheerfully. 

"So you are the one she keeps talking about," Noemi said. 

"Hey, Emma, I think that Kevin is pretty great with homework," Daniel said, while said Irish man stared at him in horror. 

"Would you babysit her for a bit? You've done a great job before," Lauren asked him. 

"I'm more pretty than great."  
Six eyes looked at him pleadingly.  
"Okay. Fine," he said. 

"You can sit in the backroom," Daniel said. 

Emma was very happy.  
"May I take Sir-" 

"YES, HERE YOU GO. Have fun," Daniel said while picking up Sir Fecker the Third and handing her over to Emma. 

Kevin gave Daniel one last glance, then he followed the girl into the other room. 

"I learned multiplication with the big numbers in school," Emma told him proudly. 

"I didn't," Kevin answered. 

Then he closed the door behind them. 

Daniel prepared something to drink while observing the two ladies quietly. 

They sat opposite of each other, looking in different directions.  
Noemi played with the fork on the table, while Lauren picked up Schrödinger. They hadn't exchanged a word yet, when Daniel brought two glasses of apple juice to the table. 

He hesitated for a moment, then he took a third chair and sat with them.  
They looked at him in confusion. 

"How did you two first meet?", he asked. 

"Well,", Lauren said slowly, "I've been on a year abroad in Norway . And Noemi also was. We met in our universities' library." 

For the first time, since she had entered, Noemi smiled. "Lauren had a short red dress and I wondered who on earth would wear this for studying. In a library? In winter?" 

"She stumbled against me and made me drop my books." 

"Was that when you fell in love?", Daniel asked. 

"No. I yelled at her for ten minutes," Lauren said. 

"Then we got kicked out. But Lauren apologised immediately. I apologised, too. And then we just kept talking."

"I had no place else to go. My dorm was a mess." 

"So I invited her over to mine. Since it kinda was my fault." 

"It was fully your fault. You made me drop my books on purpose. I know it." 

"Anyway. We didn't study. We just talked. Lauren missed home. Then I had the idea to cook something that reminded her of home." 

"That was the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. A total stranger. And that was when I fell in love." 

"Lauren met me again, the next day. She gave me a pretty rock as a present. She said: 'that's how the penguins do it'. And that was when I realised that I had fallen for her head over heals." 

"This is so adorable!", Daniel said. 

"... When did you realise, that *you* are in love?", Lauren asked with a grin. 

"That reminds me I should bring you the cake," he answered after an awkward pause. 

"Don't be shy." 

"Oh no. This evening is just about you two," he answered nervously. 

Unbeknownst to either woman this exact moment was the moment he realised that he had really fallen in love.  
Feck.  
... Feck?  
Feck!

He remembered Kevin walking into the Café for the first time, Kevin showing him the stars, Kevin giggling maniacally while putting eggs in his aprons' pocket. 

Still with a terrified expression, Daniel brought two plates and sat down with the women again. 

"That's exactly, what our first one tasted like," Noemi said after trying a spoonful with closed eyes. 

"How did you know, that we burned it, because we were chatting the whole time?" 

Daniel shrugged and smiled.  
Kevin had saved the day after all. 

"Anyway. When the year was over, I had to go back to Manchester to study law there," Lauren said. 

Noemi took Lauren's hand in hers.  
"And I had to go back to Zimbabwe. I stayed there for two weeks, before I realised, that I couldn't go on like this and I followed her to England to get my physics degree there. Later, only shortly before the adoption, we moved here. To start over completely. "

"That probably was the stupidest and also bravest thing you have ever done. Just following me." 

"Next month we will be together for 17 years and married for ten."

"The 17 happiest of my life," Lauren said. 

"That's so gay," Noemi answered. 

Then they were quiet for a while, enjoying the cake. 

Daniel cleared his throat after some time. "Lauren, Why are you affraid because of your wife's job?"

"Why are you affraid of my job?" Noemi asked in confusion. 

"Because it is so dangerous," Lauren answered quietly. 

"Why do you think, I'm in danger?" 

"Because you are now working with lasers." 

".... And....?"

"I don't want you to get hurt. I'm seriously scared for you." 

"From the lasers. Hurt. From the lasers." 

"Yes." 

Noemi started laughing.  
"You are saying that you were acting all weird because you were affraid I would get hurt by the lasers I work with?" 

"Why are you laughing? This is not funny." 

"Yes, it is. I'm sorry. If you don't look directly into them they are completely harmless.  
They are like light but with a different wavelength. They don't hurt at all and they are clearly not dangerous." 

"I thought- I'm sorry. I'm being - sorry." 

"I'm very lucky to have you," Noemi said earnestly. Then she leaned over and kissed her. 

After that they were in a much better mood. And Daniel left to look how Kevin and Emma were doing.  
The mothers didn't even realise, that he was gone. 

"No. You have to use your fingers or you forget things," Emma just said. 

"Hi, how are you two doing?", Daniel asked. 

"He is doing miserably, but I'm doing fine." 

"Okay, savage," Kevin said. 

"This doesn't look difficult," Daniel said, leaning over Kevin's shoulder. He couldn't tell from the notes which was Kevin's handwriting and which was Emma's. But damn, his hair smelled nice. 

"It's not difficult," Emma said patiently.

"I didn't go to school very often," Kevin answered quietly. 

"Don't worry, I can teach you," Emma said. Daniel had wanted to say the same thing. But she had been faster. 

"I did learn Additions - and I'm pretty good at that if I may say so - but I missed a lot of Multiplication." 

"It's not that hard," Daniel reassured him.

Then someone knocked on the door. 

Daniel opened. 

"We have to go home, now. Thank you so much for everything. Come on, Emma." 

~~~

Lauren held Emmas hand when they left, and the young girl told her very excitedly about the story Kevin had helped her write for her English lesson.  
The story (which mostly Kevin had made up), was about a deer that could fly and shoot with multiple weapons at once. It fought against the polar bear police and against a giant koala. Its aim was to destroy every building in the city. 

Noemi stayed behind and stopped before exiting the café. "May I tell you a secret?" 

"Sure," Daniel said. 

"I made her drop her books on purpose."  
She winked and left. 

Daniel shook his head before he turned to Kevin. 

"What would you like to have today, by the way?" 

"I already ate some of the macaroons. Money is on the counter." 

"Okay."  
Daniel scribbled something down.  
"Anything else?" 

"No, I'm fine. What are you writing down there anyway?" 

"Actually I'm just playing tic tac toe against myself." 

"How is that working for you?" 

"I'm losing most of the time." 

They just stood there and smiled at each other absently for a long moment. 

"... Are you closing for today?", Kevin finally asked. 

"Yes, I think so." 

"Sooo..."  
Kevin leaned against one of the tables, arms crossed. 

"I'm so sorry. I have some paperwork to do." 

"Alright. Maybe next time."  
His smile dropped a bit. Then he turned and went to the door, his jacket and scarf thrown over his shoulder. 

"Kevin, wait."

"Yeah?"

"I really would have wanted to. It's just. I really need to finish this." 

"Don't worry about it. I've learned a lot about numbers today, and I understand that they can be very difficult." 

That made him crack into a relieved smile.  
"Thanks. We'll do i- we play that game another time. Pinky promise," Daniel said. 

Then Kevin took a step forward again.  
"... Listen, I bought a new phone today and it doesn't have any contacts in it... Would you..." 

They looked at each other and they both knew, that this had been one of the worst pick up lines known to human kind.  
In that moment, Kevin wouldn't have minded, if Dan had just slammed the door right in front of his face. 

But there are these rare moments when it is better to say something than to say nothing at all and Daniel took the shiny new - partially floured- phone from him and typed in his number. 

"Thanks. I'll write text messages," Kevin said. 

"And I will reply to them."

Of course their fingers brushed, when he gave the phone back. Kevin took this opportunity to take Daniels hand and just squeeze it gently for the fracture of a moment. 

"I'll see you," he said. 

"Not if I see you first," Daniel answered quietly and they smiled at each other once more, warmly. 

Then Kevin left the café, and he waved one last time, before he was out of sight. 

~~~

Hours later, in the light of the flickering desk lamp, Daniel read the messages, Kevin wrote to him. 

K: I hope you are done with the paperwork. I just heard the neighbours dog bark which made me think of cats which made me think of you. 

D: :') Almost done

K: you should try to get some sleep.  
It's decking late. 

K: *decking

K: *deck

K: *deck

K: *deck

K: *deck

K: *deck

K: flecking new phoned 

K: Good night. 

D: Sleep tight :) 

K: Don't let the cockroach bite. 

The desk lamp stayed on until the early morning hours, when hungry cat noises woke him from sleeping on a pillow of paperwork.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also for those too lazy to look it up:  
> [K] = [C] + 273.15
> 
> Aaaaaand Kevin obviously played deer simulator before helping Emma with her homework.
> 
> Edit: It has been brought to my attention that using Kelvin and not Fahrenheit doesn't make any sense. I apologise for that.  
> If you are cooking with a book, that doesn't have Celsius, chances are really high, it's in Fahrenheit and "The proper formula is F=(1,8xC)+32  
> That means (1,8x165)+32=329"
> 
> Thank you to the person who pointed that out to me in the comments.
> 
> And please, anyone, feel free to point out any mistakes you find, I won't be offended.


	6. A new family member

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your lovely comments! They really make my day.
> 
> Lots of love to all of you.
> 
> I'm so lucky to be in this fandom. <3
> 
> Now that the exams are over, I'll update more often again.  
> Until march. March will be hard again.
> 
> Anyway. Please enjoy! :)

Spring was approaching slowly and Kevin stood in front of The Edge Of The Universe once more, with that warm feeling in his tummy, that he couldn't quite explain.  
Through the window he could see Daniel cleaning up something cat related from the floor.  
He watched him for a bit before opening the door.  
Just when he entered, the phone rang. 

"Hey," he said. 

"Hey." 

Daniel smiled at him apologetically a moment too long, but then he took the call and disappeared into the backroom. 

Kevin watched him leave and then he was left alone in the café.  
The cats observed him lazily, but they could sense from afar, that he hadn't brought a treat of any kind.  
Only Burnt Marshmallow greeted him by slicing his trousers with her claws, in the attempt of climbing up his leg like a very black and very scary four legged spider. 

"How are you doing, little demon?" 

The cat just stared at him with huge eyes.  
He took her and carried her in the direction of the door.  
What was Daniel taking so long?  
Has something happened?  
He moved back as he heard steps. 

Daniel, who always was very pale, was now almost translucent when he came back. 

"Did something happen?", Kevin asked, worried. 

"No, it's nothing." 

"Are you sure? Would you like to talk about it?"

He cleared his throat, then he smiled again. "I'm fine, really. - Would you like something 'to go'? I'm closing the café, now." 

"Why?" 

"On every first Tuesday of the month, I'm picking up a new family member."

"Okay. Cool." 

They stood in front of each other for a while, both not really knowing what to do. Burnt Marshmallow sunk her tiny teeth in Kevin's arm, but he didn't really mind, because he was somehow distracted by that beautiful smile. 

Then Daniel cleared his throat again. Then he focused on the floor next to Kevin, while asking: "Would you like to join me?" 

"Feck, yeah! Let's pick up another fecker." 

This made Daniel beam at him.  
"I'll get us something for the way, and then we can head out." 

~~~

It was very convenient that it wasn't a long walk. Although Kevin wouldn't have minded if the walk had been longer. They talked about the channel and the gameshop again.  
It was one thing talking to a camera.  
But it was completely different to see Daniel reacting to what he said, seeing him listening, seeing him actually laugh at his jokes. 

"And you know. The game has a two player mode. So if I ever met someone I could play with...."

"I'm a bit busy at the moment. - But how about the weekend?" 

"The weekend sounds good! I'll come to the café and then - it's time that I invite you over." 

"Sounds great. I could bring cookies." 

~~~

At the local Animal Shelter, they were greeted with a lot of friendlyness. Everyone appearantly already knew Daniel. 

"Welcome back," a teenager with really exciting hair said. 

"Hi," Daniel said, "Kevin, this is Jill. They are responsible for the cat section." 

"Hey." 

"Hey." 

"And this is my - Kevin." 

They stared at each other for a too long moment. Daniel looked horrofied, while Kevin smirked. 

"Okay. Awkward. Let's look at the cats. Shall we?", Jill said with a clap of their hands, like to wake the other two up. 

They walked from cage to cage.  
There weren't many cats. Kevin assumed that there were less cats than you would expect and was average, because Daniel had adopted them one after another and brought them to The Edge Of The Universe over time.  
There were three small kittens, that wouldn't have any problems to find a new home.  
Then there was a white cat, that had something unsteady about his very blue eyes. 

"I want that one," Kevin said and pointed at him. 

The cat hissed. 

"We are definitely taking that one," Daniel said. 

"Are you sure?", Jill asked. 

"Yes," they said in unison. 

Then they had to fill out some papers for the adoption of the cat. 

Jill said their goodbyes and gave them over to an elderly lady. 

"What are your names?", the lady asked.  
She seemed to be the kind of person to find it extremely important to work after protocol, although she already had to know Daniels name, because he had been there like a million times before.

"This is Daniel and I'm his Kevin," Kevin said. 

Daniel bit his lips and focused on the floor. 

The lady laughed. 

"I need your address. Then sign here. The cat hasn't been assigned a name yet. He has the number 21," she said while hiding a smile. 

"Thank you," Daniel said quickly, grabbing the papers. 

~~~

"What would you like to call him?", Daniel asked as they entered the café with the catbox again.  
The cat hissed from inside the box. 

"I think you should give him a name, Daniel. All I can think of right now is:  
Sir Fecker the fourth." 

"Do you not know any other real cats' names?"

"No. - Wait. Let's call him '21'." 

"Guess, you'll stay nameless, until we find another friend to name you," he told the cat after rolling his eyes at Kevin. 

"Why don't you choose a name?", Kevin asked curiously. 

"I've never chosen a name before. I just don't do that." 

"Then it's about time." 

He looked at the cat. Then he looked at Daniel. 

"You are probably right." 

"It has very white fur, hasn't it? The little fecker." , Kevin said. 

"That's true. He reminds me of something..." 

"What is it?"

"I remember watching 'Detective Mittens: the crime solving cat' on YouTube back in 2008. God, I'm old.  
Mittens is a good cat's name, though. That was probably also when my love for cats started." 

"I call you hereby Detective Mittens," Kevin said, picking him up Lion-King-Style. 

"Everyone, this is Detective Mittens. Detective Mittens, this is everyone," Dan said as all the other cats had surrounded them curiously.  
Then he sat the new cat on the floor, after taking him from Kevin, where Detective Mittens stayed, cuddling against his feet. 

Suddenly Daniel seemed very sad. 

"Are you okay?"

Daniel shook his head. 

"You can't save all of them," Kevin said unexpectedly softly. 

"I know."

Daniel took a deep breath and Kevin laid an arm around his waist and pulled him close. 

"It'll be fine." 

Daniel leaned his head against his shoulder. 

"You don't know that." 

He let go of him when his heart beating got so loud, he feared Daniel could hear it. 

"I do. Everything will be alright," he promised. 

Then the phone rang again and Daniel jumped and disappeared with it in the kitchen.  
Kevin looked around.  
Detective Mittens sat alone in a corner. He hissed when he saw him looking in his direction.  
Burnt Marshmallow eyed him suspiciously.  
He sat down at a table. 

"Good day, Kevin," Martha said, as she entered the café. 

"Hello, Martha." 

She seemed to be in a good mood.  
This time she wore a bright lemon-yellow Queen-like costume.  
The cats immediately surrounded her, making hungry cat noises.  
Just Burnt Marshmallow and Detective Mittens stayed behind.  
She had brought some treats for them. 

Suddenly Lauren entered the café, seemingly in a hurry. Emma followed her. 

"Could you watch Emma for a while, please?", she asked, out of breath.

"Did something happen?" 

"Noemi is in Switzerland for a bit. Workrelated. I had taken the days off for Emma, but now work called and it's an emergency and I can't take Emma with me.  
Her friend Tara is sick again and she can't stay with her and we can't take our usual babysitter, because Noemi caught her stealing some silverware.  
And I don't know where else to go," She looked at Kevin pleadingly.  
Then Daniel entered the room again. He smiled at Lauren and she nodded at him. 

"Wouldn't it be better to get a real babysitter?", Kevin asked. 

"We trust you. I can't just leave her with some stranger."

"Alright. I don't have anything else to do at the moment anyway." 

"Bye, Mammy," Emma said very cheerfully. 

"Bye, sweety. I'll be back as soon as I can."  
She gave her a little kiss on the forehead, before she stormed outside again. 

Kevin waved a hand at Lauren.  
Then he looked down at Emma. 

"Do you have homework?"

"No, I'm done with it." 

"What was for your homework," Martha asked. 

"Nothing."

"First they had to ban beating children in school, and now they not even giving them homework anymore," Martha said to herself, shaking her head. 

"If we can't do homework or beat you, what are we doing then?", Kevin mused. 

"Can we have a tea party with the cats?", Emma asked with big eyes. 

"The cats only drink water, but I can make some tea for us," Daniel said. 

"That should work, too," Emma said and petted Sir Fecker The Third. 

Daniel disappeared into the kitchen for a moment to see if he also had some fancy cups. And somewhere he had had some bags of teas stored, that he didn't usually used. Surely.  
He thought about how nice it was, that Lauren trusted them so much.  
"Die, motherfecker," Daniel heard Kevin yell, when he entered the room again with a tray full of different teas. 

He was concerned until he saw that Kevin was just playing a game on his phone.  
Martha and Emma cheered, standing behind him and looking over his shoulders.

Then he was concerned again, when he saw that that game was Candy Crush. 

"Here we go. Strawberry tea for Emma, Russian Earl Grey for Lady Martha and Chocolate for Kevin," Daniel said as he sat down with the others. 

"What do you drink?", Emma asked. 

"Just peppermint I'm having a little stomach upset." 

"Are you okay?", Kevin asked. 

"Yeah. I'm fine. Don't worry." 

"Because I know a lot about stomach upsets. I'm a professional in that way, you could say. My stomach is very upset most of the time. I have an angry tummy," Kevin said very casually. 

"Do you want some peppermint tea instead?" 

"No, I'm fine. Anyway, what do you think about gun control?" 

They sat together for a bit. And Kevin managed to make Martha really mad by not agreeing with her on politics. It made Daniel very concerned, but it also made him laugh very much.  
Emma fell asleep to a monologue about trading.  
Martha was horrofied finding out, that everything Kevin knew about trading, he had learned in a pirate game.  
Daniel laughed under his breath.  
Then Emma woke up to play with the cats some more. 

The cats ignored her most of the time. 

When she got bored, Daniel brought some paper and pens.  
Kevin and Emma started drawing something, while Daniel watched, and Martha complained about the election. 

"And what are you two drawing? I like that you two seem to be on the same level of drawing skills."

"I'm drawing Burnt Marshmallow and Detective Mittens. They are so. Sweet. Together," Emma said. 

"I'm drawing Grognac The Destroyer Attorney At Law," Kevin said.

"Both pictures are very pretty. May I hang them up, here?", Daniel asked with a bright smile. 

"Of course. I drew it for you. It is a present," Emma said. 

"Oh thank you! That's very sweet of you."

"I'm not finished," Kevin said, panicked. 

"- what are you doing now, Kevin?"

"I'm adding some red."

"It looks like blood. But I guess you could also interpret it as-", Daniel started. 

"Well, this red is supposed to symbolise the souls of the people Grognac the destroyer attorney at law has killed. That's what the artist, thought while drawing this. And the artist is me. I'm the artist." 

"I'm very proud of both of you," Daniel said. 

~~~

"Thank you so much for taking care of our child," Lauren said when she came back about two hours later. 

"It was no problem at all. You are welcome," Kevin said. 

"Look, she drew something," Daniel said, pointing at the wall. 

"Which one drew my daughter?" 

"The one with the cats."

"Oh. Phew. I was really scared for a moment."

"That's how art is supposed to be," Kevin said. "I'm a bit of an artist myself."

"Yeah. Anyway. We are glad we could help. Come back anytime," Daniel said. 

"I will and thank you so much again," Lauren said. 

Martha left as well, when Lauren and Emma went home, which meant that Kevin and Daniel were alone once more. 

"Maybe we could babysit more children," Kevin said. 

"Make more money of it," Daniel added with a laugh. 

"Exactly." 

"The parents probably would want at least any kind of references."

"We have Emma as a reference. She is turning out fine."

"And they would want to talk to us."

"Hey, let's fecking practice that right now." 

"Hmm," Daniel said while standing up and starting to clean the café. 

"What is your biggest weakness, Daniel?" 

"My cat allergies." 

Kevin laughed. Then he started to put the chairs together. 

"And what is yours?", Daniel asked. 

He acted like he thought for a moment very hard. "My looks are very distracting to other people." 

Kevin continued laughing, while Daniel bit his lip. He felt how his cheeks started to burn, but hopefully Kevin wouldn't notice it in the flickering lights of the room. 

"I'd probably kill a lot of children by accident. I'd make up fun games. Throw them out of a window to see what happens for example," Kevin said very casually. 

"Imagine that headline," Daniel replied. 

"Curious Kevin killed the child." 

"Shut up. You are awesome with children. You big softie." 

"No, I'm not," Kevin answered like he was very offended. 

They were quiet for a while, cleaning up the café together. 

"It- it got pretty late again... Will I see you tomorrow?", Daniel asked, after he had cleaned another table. 

"Not if I see you first," Kevin said, while throwing on his jacket. 

He turned around one last time to smile at him before leaving reluctantly. 

~~~

Daniel was already half asleep, when his phone beeped.  
The screen hurt his eyes and he groaned.  
It took some time, before he was able to see, what was written there. 

K: Good night :) 

Daniel chuckled quietly. 

D: Sleep tight

Then there was typing for a while. He had already one eye closed and the other one was only half open, staring at the screen when the phone beeped again. 

K: Don't eat the average of 10 spiders in your sleep this night. 

Daniel fell asleep with a big smile on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, time to learn a bit about YouTube History. 
> 
> 'Detective Mittens the crime solving cat' is a YouTube video about a cat more or less solving crime. It was made by the same guy, who also made 'llamas with hats'  
> What were you doing, if you didn't watch 'llamas with hats' at an inappropriate age?  
> Or 'Charlie the unicorn'?  
> Or 'Marshmallow People'? 
> 
> Also I feel like in every second *old* crack video there is, some song from 'Charlie the unicorn' is used. 
> 
> I think the humour is quite similar to Kevin's. So yeah. There is that. 
> 
> Anyway. Thanks for reading and please let me know, what you think.


	7. The Moment

The moon woke him in the middle of the night. 

Kevin had forgotten to close the window before going to bed and now the Great Fecker painted the room in a silvery light.  
It was also fecking cold.  
With a grunt he stood up and closed the window and the curtains. The room didn't get much darker but a lot colder. 

He shivered.  
Then his eyes fell on the chair, where there still was the pullover. Green and full of cat's hair.  
Without a second thought he put it on. He stared at the opposite wall for a while. When he looked at the clock the next time, it showed 4 in the morning. 

Did it make sense to go back to sleep?  
Most definitely yes, but he got out of bed anyway.  
He left the house and started walking around the neighbourhood and then further away. Mechanically his feet brought him to The Edge Of The Universe.  
Of course it was still closed.  
Through the window he could see some of the cats playing with their toys. Some were walking around, some were cleaning themselves. 

There was a light under the door of the kitchen. Maybe it was for the cats. 

Burnt Marshmallow spotted him. She walked in the direction of the window like she wanted to greet him, but then she seemed to change her mind and started a fight with a toy mouse instead. 

Kevin turned around with a sigh.  
The coffee shop at the other side of the street seemed to be open.  
Moonbucks.  
Without putting much thought into it, he entered it.  
An elderly gentleman was behind the counter. 

"I've never noticed, that here is another coffee shop," Kevin said more to himself. 

"Do you want coffee?", the man behind the counter asked harshly. 

"I don't really drink coffee." 

"You don't drink coffee?" 

"Maybe Irish coffee. But just because it is Irish." 

"So do you want some Irish coffee, now?" 

Kevin looked around.  
The walls were beige.  
He could smell something sweet. But it wasn't really sugary. It had something metallic.  
He didn't like that there weren't any cats. 

"I don't think so," he said and left. 

The barista probably said something rude under his breath. Kevin ignored it. 

The game shop would open soon anyway. He could just go there. Maybe clean something up. 

On his way there he got scared once or twice by his own shadow. The Great Fecker was very bright that night. 

He also kept thinking about Daniel. 

~~~

Daniel couldn't sleep either. His back hurt.  
He stared at the ceiling.  
Sometimes thoughts can get so loud, that one can't get rest. And this was exactly what was happening now. 

Then one starts to ask the question 'what if...'

And from then on, sleep isn't an option anymore.

So he got up and put on a bathrobe and then started walking around - and then he was walking around in the café.  
When he looked through a window, he saw that the full Great Fecker was very bright at the moment. There wasn't a single cloud in sight.  
Burnt Marshmallow was as black as her shadow, when she stood next to him expectantly.  
He picked her up and she started to purr immediately. 

"Do you guys think, I should send a text message to Kevin and see, if he is by any chance awake?", he asked the cats. 

They stopped whatever they were doing at the moment and formed a circle around him. 

"What if he doesn't really like you?", Detective Mittens asked. 

"Of course he likes him. He is very nice to him," Sir Fecker the Third said. 

"What if he is just this nice to everyone else?", Detective Mittens asked. 

"It's natural to want the person you fell in love with to be happy, but it can also give you this stitch in the heart when you think they could also be happy with someone else. Just this little pang of jealousy," Schrödinger said. 

"... What if he is? Happy with someone else," Detective Mittens asked. 

"Nothing.  
If he was happy with someone else, Daniel could just go back to normal. ", George said.  
George very rarely ever spoke. That was, because he was the oldest and probably the wisest cat in the room. With age comes wisdom. At least he said so. And he should know. Because he was old. "Things have been fine before. And things will be fine after." 

"This probably was a lie," Detective Mittens said. 

"The other thing might be not true either.  
But could he ever be really sure?", Schrödinger argued. 

"You are spiraling again," one of the orange cats said. One of her names was Rose. 

"Anyway. There is no point in going back to sleep, now. We have time. Let's discuss this," Sir Fecker the Third said. 

"There is no point in overanalyzing every single one of their interactions either," Rose hissed. "Can't you see? They like each other. Why do you have to make this harder than it is?" 

"I just need a sign," Daniel said defensively. 

"How many signs do you need? Just go for it!", Rose said. 

"He should not 'go for it'. Who will feed us and who will clean the litter boxes if he dies of a broken heart?", one of the grey cats asked. One of her names was Becky.  
No one really liked her. 

"What if he does love you?", Burnt Marshmallow asked quietly, "Because he does. But what are you going to do?"

Daniel looked down at her. Then he sat down on the next chair and put her on the table in front of him.  
"I don't know," Daniel said just as quietly. 

"Something has to happen," Burnt Marshmallow said softly. 

"Something has to happen!", Sir Fecker the Third repeated loudly, as he jumped on the table next to her. 

The cats cheered. 

"But what will happen?", Daniel asked weakly. 

"Things will happen like they are supposed to. There is no point in questioning fate," George said. 

"But he can't just lean back and wait for something to happen. Sometimes you have to bite the mouses neck. The mouse won't do it for you," Rose argued back. 

"Bite the neck. Bite the neck. Bite the neck," some of the cats started chanting. 

"I will not bite his neck," Daniel said and raised his hands in frustration. 

"Bite the mouth like the humans do," Burnt Marshmallow said. 

"I can't just-" 

"He's right. There has to be the moment for this," Rose said. 

"When will this moment be?", Burnt Marshmallow asked. 

"He will see it, when it's there," George said, "But now we shall really get going." 

~~~

Hours later, Kevin entered the fourth flower shop on his way to 'The Edge Of the Universe'. 

He looked around. An elderly lady was before him. She bought flower arrangements for a graveyard. 

Bored, Kevin poked a finger at a cactus with a hat and googly eyes. 

"Hehe." 

He knew the names of maybe three kinds of flowers in this shop and started to feel a bit lost. 

"Next one, please." 

The elderly lady left, hidden behind a mountain of flowers. 

"Ah yes. That's me. Do you have any flowers-" he looked around "-that say: I really really like you, but I'm joking, unless you like me, then I want to be with you for the rest of my life in a cozy magical cat café and make YouTube Videos at night and you would make hot chocolate for me and just smile and I would sing for you. Fecking shit, I'm so..."  
He lost focus. 'What am I even?', he seemed to ask himself. 

The person behind the desk of the flowershop looked like they were very done with this world. 

"How about a cactus? The one with the small hat and the googly eyes maybe?", a voice behind him broke the silence. 

"I'm not sure," he said as he turned around to look at the person that had spoken. 

"Hi, Kevin," Noemi said.

"Hi. What are you doing here?" 

"I'm getting roses for Lauren. Obviously." 

"You think this cactus is the right one?", Kevin asked. 

"Yes. 100%"

"How do you know so much about flower language?" 

"I don't."

"Then why..."  
He stared at the cactus in his hand.  
The cactus stared back. 

"I think it doesn't matter what you will get him. He will love it as long as it comes from you." 

"Are you sure?" 

"100%"  
She nodded. 

~~~

Kevin entered 'The Edge of the Universe" alone, because Noemi had to go back to work. 

"How are you today?", Daniel asked. 

"I'm feeling absolutely brilliant," Kevin said. 

"Really?"  
Daniel couldn't look at him.  
Detective Mittens hissed at no one in particular. 

"Yeah. Today is going to be a good day." 

"Why are you here then?"

"I wanted to see... "

*you*

"The muffins," Kevin said with a nervous laugh. "Yummy chocolate muffins with these huge chocolate chunks. 

"Alright then."

"How are you?" 

"Me?" 

"Is something wrong? You are acting odd." 

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" 

Daniel hesitated. "What are you hiding?", he asked suspiciously, as he finally really looked at Kevin. 

"Nothing!" 

"Kevin... What are you up to?" 

"Ah yeah. I've got something for you." 

He showed him the cactus he had been hiding behind his back.

"Awww thank you! This is adorable."  
Feelings started to mix in his face. What finally stayed was a sweet smile.  
They looked each other in the eyes and it felt like all the worries fell off his shoulders, like a backpack full of useless books.  
Detective Mittens hissed again, like to make a point. Daniel ignored him. 

"You should give him a name," Kevin said, as he gave him the cactus. Their fingers touched and they stayed in that position until Daniel got scared by the squeaking of a toy mouse.  
One of the orange cats had almost decapitated it. Daniel shook his head inconspicuously. 

*Bite the neck! *

"Carl will get a special place somewhere sunny. But also where the cats can't knock him over," he then said loudly. And a bit reproachfully.  
The cats ignored him. 

Kevin and Daniel looked around. 

"I might have to glue him on some surface," Daniel said. 

"True." 

"I'll get you some muffins then." 

"Thank you. By the way, have you watched the trailer for the new batman movie?", Kevin asked as he sat down at the nearest table.  
Burnt Marshmallow immediately jumped onto his lap. Then she started chewing at the fabric of the pullover.  
His heart almost stopped, when he realised, he was still wearing the green one. Daniels pullover.  
Had he noticed? 

"I'm a fan as well. Would you like to watch it together?" 

"Yes! I can't wait to watch the new Batman movie." 

That was when Lauren and Emma entered the Café. 

"I've heard 'Batman'? " Lauren asked. "I'm so excited for that one. Let's watch the Trailer on my Laptop."

Lauren and Emma stayed for a while and they all watched several versions together. Also some fanmade ones. 

After some time, Lauren looked at her watch and said: "Oh shi- sugar! You'll be late for the piano lesson, Emma. Pack your homework. We gotta go." 

"I should go as well. I have some stupid meeting with the employees of the game shop. Everyone wants more money. Feckers."  
He shrugged with half a smile.  
"So... Will I see you at the weekend for some PlayStation?"

"Yes, of course! Have fun at your meeting, Kevin. And Emma, also have fun at the piano lesson. You have to show us some time. Goodbye." 

Kevin left last and gave Daniel one last smile. Lauren held the door open with a small grin. 

Suddenly Sir Fecker the Third slid between their legs and ran into the street. 

"Oh no." 

Then everything happened really fast. 

Before he could grasp another thought, Kevin ran after the cat. 

Behind him, he heard Emma scream. Then there was a car screeching.  
There was pain.  
Then there was darkness. 

Time stopped.


	8. flowers and baloons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You didn't think I would leave you on a cliffhanger, did you?

There was darkness and then there was pain. 

Then there was a warm hand holding his.  
Daniel.  
He knew it before he opened his eyes. 

The room was blurry.  
Then it wasn't.  
The light was very bright and it felt a bit like burning his sensitive skin.  
Next to him on a chair slept Daniel. Surrounded by baloons, flowers and get-well-soon-cards.  
He was holding his hand in his sleep. Even in his sleep he looked very sad and worried.  
Carefully, Kevin squeezed his hand. 

"Kevin! You are awake." 

"Dan." 

"Kevin!", Emma cheered from another corner of the room. 

Kevin blinked. "Hey. Oh no. What happened to Sir Fecker the Third?" 

"She is fine. She was a lot faster than you," Emma said. 

"Are you feeling hurt?", Daniel asked worriedly. He carefully touched his arm. Then his shoulder. 

"Not that much because you are here."  
They looked into each others' eyes. 

"My mums taught me, not to run after cats on a street," Emma said. 

"My parents didn't," Kevin said, not taking his eyes off Daniel. 

"I regret that our first kiss was caused by my doing first aid on you." 

"And I don't even remember it." 

"I'm joking. Some other guy did first aid. He looked a lot like PS1 Hagrid, though." 

"Feck yeah."  
They both laughed nervously. 

"That's not true.  
Daniel did first aid. He also cried a lot. The doctor said, he saved your life," Lauren said. 

"I wasn't crying. Those were my cat allergies kicking in." 

"You saved me," Kevin stated like it had just dawned to him, this exact moment.

"I did."

"You fecking saved me, Daniel."

"Kevin..."

"You saved my fecking life."

"Please calm down. The fast beeping of your machine over there makes me really nervous." 

"Thank you, Daniel." 

Daniel just squeezed his hand. Then he turned away so he wouldn't see him wiping away a tear. 

In this moment Martha came.  
"Sorry I'm late, but one of the nurses came to me and wanted to 'help me back to my room'." 

"Thanks for visiting, Martha," Kevin said. 

"There is one thing you should know about hospitals-" she sat down on a chair in the corner of the room "Once they have you here. You'll never get out again. They'll always find something new to keep you here." 

"Martha, no!", Daniel said. 

"Shush, child. Rule number two: never eat the soup." 

"I never eat soup." 

"Good boy. Rule number three: bring your own toilet paper. Rule number four: never shower-" 

"Martha, I think this is quite enough." 

Lauren cleared her throat. "We gotta go now. We'll visit you again soon, okay? Martha, you should come with us." 

"But I haven't told him about the idiot doctors yet," Martha complained. 

"I think you have been helpful enough, today," Lauren said softly. 

"You are right. He'll find out soon enough." 

So they said their goodbyes, after Martha told them the importance of wearing underwear, and left.  
But Daniel stayed behind.  
He stood in front of the bed again. He looked at Kevin. There were no bandages or open wounds. If you didn't know what happened, you could just assume he was in the hospital for treating a cold. 

"I'm so sorry. ", Daniel said quietly, when they were sure they were alone. 

"You have nothing to be sorry about." 

"It was my cat, that you tried to save." 

"You are not responsible for what your cats are doing." 

"I sure hope so." , he said with a tired smile. 

"This is the worst moment ever. But. How do you feel about me?" 

"I don't like people but you are an exception." 

"Alright. Okay."  
They smiled at each other. Daniel took his hand carefully and sat down next to him, searching for words. He didn't even realise how much faster the heart beat monitor was now beeping. 

"If I couldn't make a decision- what decision should I chose?" 

Daniel tried to tell him with his eyes, what he meant. And maybe Kevin understood. 

"I think you should do, whatever makes you happy," he said after a while. 

Daniel nodded. Then he started to lean closer.  
Kevin closed his eyes, until he felt Daniels lips on his forehead. For just a moment. Then Daniels pretty face was much too far away again.  
The feeling of the touch stayed. 

"I have to go, now. Please get well, soon," Daniel said. 

Then he was gone. 

And Kevin was left alone to his thoughts stumbling all over each other. 

~~~

Daniel visited him every day until he was allowed to go. They talked about everything and still nothing in particular. Kevin got better fast. Sometimes at night he imagined, it was Daniels voice that was healing him.  
Maybe it was.  
Or maybe it was just the fact, that he felt better, whenever they were together.  
He didn't like the fecking therapy thing, when some person came over to tell him how to move. He never really liked moving much. But now it even hurt to do so. 

Emma visited him as well, as often as she could. Sometimes with Noemi, sometimes with Lauren. 

Most of the time, he helped her with her homework.  
Or better: Emma taught him, whatever she learned at school. 

Sometimes she brought drawings of the cats. On the last day her drawing looked different than the usual ones. 

"Who is that fecker?", Kevin asked after staring at it for a while.  
It was the last day for him, and everyone had come to visit him for the last time, before they would meet again in the café the next day. Obviously he couldn't wait to get out. 

"That's you. And that's Daniel." 

"That's us?"  
He had a closer look at it, Daniel stepped behind him and looked as well. 

"Yes. Look. You have a flamethrower and Daniel has a fire destinguisher." 

"I think you want to say 'fire extinguisher'," Noemi said, not looking up from her phone. She sat on a chair, in the corner of the room, answering e-mail for work. Lauren stood next to her, lost in her own thoughts. On the other chair sat Martha. She was drinking hospital tea. And at the same time she was complaining that she was drinking hospital tea. 

"No, it's a fire destinguisher. It says 'Yep, that' s a fire'," Emma said in the same voice, she taught Kevin simple math, he didn't understand, in. 

"Wouldn't it make more sense, if... Nevermind," Daniel said. 

"I think she wants to say that you don't cancel each other out, but you work together. Maybe. I never paid attention in literature class," Lauren mumbled under her breath. 

"The artist which is me says, that you should let him burn stuff. Because burning stuff is funny." 

The Bois giggled at that and Noemi finally looked up from her phone.  
"I start to feel like you two are having a bad influence on my daughter." 

"It's true, because it's art." 

"I have to go, now," Daniel said, after glancing at his watch. "I have to take Sir Fecker the Third to the vet. I think she ate something wrong. She has lost more fur than the others." 

"I'll see you tomorrow, when I get out."

Daniel left the room together with Lauren after they said their goodbyes and left Noemi and Emma there.  
Kevin didn't like that Daniel hadn't kissed his forehead since the first night in the hospital. But he didn't know what to do about it either. 

______

Lauren and Daniel entered the hospital's elevator together. They were alone in there. 

"You brought muffins for the nurses to be allowed to stay longer," Lauren accused him in her lawyer voice. But then she smiled. 

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"You made muffins so your - Kevin would get special treatment," Lauren said with a cheeky grin. 

"Is he *my* Kevin, though?" 

"I'm not the one you should ask that question." 

"... He's not getting special treatment." 

"He's basically having a VIP-room because of you. He doesn't even have to share it with anyone."

"That's not true." 

"Did you know that hospitals usually are very strict about visiting hours?" 

"This hospital must be different. God! What is taking this elevator so long?" 

"Sure."  
She winked. 

Daniel turned his face away so she wouldn't see him getting red. 

_______

"On the next weekend we go to a wedding. When are you getting married?", Emma asked. 

"... Why do you think I'm going to get married?", Kevin asked in confusion. 

"Because my aunt May says, people shouldn't live in sin." 

"I'm not sure, if marrying would change that." 

"But you could have a nice party. And cake." 

"You have a point about the cake. On the other hand Daniel and I can eat cake any time we want without -" 

He stared at Emma. Then he shared a look with Noemi. 

"Oh," he said. 

"You haven't it even realised yet, have you?", Noemi asked. 

"Oh. Feck." 

"I thought you knew you love him, when we bought the cactus?"  
Noemi stood up and walked over to the bed. 

"Oh, Feeeck."  
He hid his face behind his hands. 

"Are you having Amnesia? How much do you remember of the day of the accident? You very clearly stated to the person who sold the flowers, that you are in love." 

"Maybe I'm having Amnosia. I-  
Wait no. Now I remember. The cactus had googly eyes and Daniels smile makes it feel like life is really worth living and there will be another day and the sun will rise.  
Oh feck." 

"Hey, calm down. There is nothing wrong with falling in love with your best friend. That's how I got my wife." 

"But he... I can't... Please, just turn off the fecking machines." 

"Kevin...," Noemi said in a calming voice. 

"Emma, be a dear and turn off the machine, will you?", Kevin asked. 

"Kevin, just go for it. There is no point in-" 

"What if he's just nice to me, because I'm a fecking customer and he needs the money?" 

"We all know, this is not true." 

"What if- it will destroy our friendship?" 

"Why would it?"

"Because we'll be happy for a few weeks and then I'll do something stupid and he will hate me." 

"Why would you even say that?" 

"He won't hate you," Emma said reassuringly. "And I've never seen you doing anything stupid." 

"I wouldn't be so sure about that one. Feck. What am I going to do now?" 

"You talk to him," Noemi said calmly. 

"How would that help with anything?" 

"What kinds of meds have they given to you?", she asked. 

Kevin didn't look at her. 

"... Wait. There is something else. Isn't it? Tell us, what is bothering you. We won't say anything," Noemi said and Emma nodded. 

Kevin reached to unplug the machines, but he couldn't move this far.  
With a groan he let himself fall back on the pillow.  
Then he sighed again.  
"There are these phonecalls. I don't know what they are about."

"And you are worried." 

"I am fecking worried." 

"Have you asked him about it." 

"No." 

She rolled her eyes.  
"Communication, boys," Noemi sighed. 

Kevin groaned. 

"You'll be fine. I promise," she said. 

"Okay," he said quietly. 

"We should get you to your piano lesson, Emma. Bye, Kevin." 

"Goodbye, Kevin." 

"Goodbye," Kevin said weakly. 

When they were gone, he took the drawing from the table next to him.  
It was a good drawing.  
Daniel's hair looked very fluffy.  
Kevin's cheeks were a little bit blushed.  
To be completely honest, she had captured them perfectly.  
They both wore suits. Kevin a white one and Daniel a black one. 

They looked happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The plot thiccccens with four c.
> 
> So yeah.  
> I don't know how or why this happened but here we go.  
> Next chapter will be more fluffffff again.


	9. Coming home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't thank you enough for all the lovely comments. <3
> 
> They really help to keep me going.
> 
> I'm talking about the comments on this fic.  
> If you read this far, I believe you are a real fan, so let me say something, that is really important to a lot of other fans.  
> Please make sure, you don't talk about fanfiction in general in the comment sections of Kevins or Daniels streams or videos.  
> Writers like me really don't want them to be uncomfortable.  
> Also we explicitly say at the beginning of each fic, that we don't want people to put this anywhere near them.  
> So please don't be rude.
> 
> That is all.  
> Thank you for reading this far and please enjoy the next chapter.

"Mr. O'Reilly, your results look acceptable enough to let you go home. You would have to stay in bed for at least two more months. And don't go to work," The doctor said the next morning.  
Two nurses stood next to her, and looked bored, while Kevin sat on his hospital bed and couldn't stop smiling. 

"Wow. This is the first time in my life I got some good test results," he said. 

"I didn't say they were good."

"Oh." 

"You can pack your things, now. We need the bed at twelve," the doctor said in a bored tone and turned to leave. 

"Wait. I need the pullover back."  
Kevin panicked. 

"I'm sure you can get a new one." 

"I really need that one." 

"That's not my job," the doctor said and left to go to the next patient.

Kevin sat back and hid his face behind his hands for a moment.  
When he looked up again, he saw that one of the nurses had stayed behind and was watching him. 

"This pullover is very important to me", he said quietly. 

"Let me see, what I can do," the nurse said. She sighed then, when she remembered she would probably have to go to the basement for that. She had eaten a lot of muffins lately and moving wasn't very fun at the moment. 

~~~

Kevin had woken up more than once in the hospital, fearing that everything had been a dream.  
HadHe had woken up with tears in his eyes and a racing heart. And the fear.  
Fear that nothing had been real. 

The Café. The cats. Dan.  
Dan. 

He was very relieved when he finally stood in front of The Edge Of The Universe again. 

"Hey, there," Kevin said softly, when he entered.  
The green pullover was hidden in an old plastic bag, which he held like a pillow. 

"What are you doing here? You should be in bed," Dan said. 

"I wanted to see-"

*you*

"Burnt Marshmallow. Hello, little demon."  
Burnt Marshmallow hissed, when he picked her up. 

"I missed you," he said and gave her a little kiss between the ears.  
"I missed you, too," Kevin said, facing Daniel. 

*Where is my kiss then?*

They locked eyes, but Daniel was not able to reply anything. 

Daniel knew that Kevin was under a lot of pain.  
He wished he knew how to help. 

"Should I- should I go then?", Kevin asked. 

"No! - I mean. I can make you some tea. Peppermint helps with-", he stopped and didn't know how to continue. 

"Peppermint helps," Kevin nodded knowingly. He sat down at one of the tables and Burnt Marshmallow hopped to the floor. 

"... How do you feel?", Daniel asked, while turning to go and prepare the tea

"I'm fine," Kevin said. 

*That was a fecking lie.*  
*Everything felt sore.*

"After your shift, would you like to come over and play some video games?", Kevin asked. Then he bit his lips. 

*I'd love to*

"I'm not sure," Daniel said. 

"I really don't want to go home alone. I don't trust myself around cars very well at the moment."

"I'll come with you, but only to make sure, you get home safely. - And look left and right before you cross a street." 

"Ouch." 

"Too soon?" 

"No. Actually not soon enough."

They both knew he wasn't talking about the joke. 

Their faces were very close again, when Daniel put the cup in front of him. 

The door opened with a shriek and Martha marched in, together with Lauren and Emma. Daniel made a little jump backwards. 

"Kevin!", Emma yelled happily. She ran in his direction but she stopped, when he flinched back. 

"Does anything hurt you?", she asked. 

"Nothing hurts as much as not having some of those cupcakes yet." 

"I'll bring some right now," Daniel said and almost ran. 

The rest of them sat down with Kevin.  
Some cats surrounded them and Kevin reached out to pet Burnt Marshmallow. He hissed under his breath as he had a stitchy pain in his arms. 

"Son, -", Martha said. 

"You're the only one who gets to call me that, you know. Probably also the only one who wants to do this." 

"Take it slow," Martha said. "As someone who has been through numerous surgeries I can tell you: There is a time for party and a time for staying at home and not moving your plastic hip. Now is not the time for some hip-action."  
She stared at both of them one after the other until they had to look away. 

Lauren covered Emma's ears. 

"Martha!" , she hissed. 

Daniel cleared his throat. "We all seem a bit stressed. And that's valid. It was a hard time for all of us.  
Sometimes not even chocolate can help. Sometimes you need..." 

*hip action*

"A hug. Sometimes a hug can make you feel better.  
That's why I think we should hug," Daniel said very fast.

"You're talking too much, just shut up and hold me,” Kevin said, standing up. 

"Grouphug!", Lauren yelled. 

"Get away from me. No– not you. You stay.”   
He wrapped his arms around Daniel. The smaller one had his face pressed against his chest. They sighed. 

"Thank you," Kevin whispered. 

"What for?" 

"The hug." 

"Ah. Yes." 

Dan quickly moved away again and then he brought tea, hot chocolate and more cupcakes and cookies for everyone. 

They stayed, chatting comfortably for a while, until Martha had to leave for Bingo and Lauren had to drive Emma to a rehearsal. 

~~~

After cleaning the café, feeding the cats and locking the doors, Daniel and Kevin stood in front of The Edge Of The Universe and watched each other, not sure, what to do next. 

"Sooo... Would you like to come over then?", Kevin asked finally. 

"Yeah," Dan said. His voice sounded higher than usual. 

"Let's go then. It's not that far."

They walked for some time in silence. 

"Are you sure, you are fine?", Daniel asked, when he realised, that Kevin started to walk slower. 

There was a pause until Kevin said: "I'm fine."  
He didn't sound that sure anymore. 

"Noemi mentioned something about you probably having Amnesia-"

"Who are you and why are you following me?" 

"Don't fuck with me like that, Kevin. That's not nice." 

"I'm a very Catholic boi. Have I mentioned that?", Kevin said, and when Daniel only rolled his eyes, he added: "I might have a little bit of Amnosia. You might have to help my memory a bit from time to time. What are we doing when we get home again?"

"Well. We wanted to play some video games. Then you promised to read the bedtime stories this time. After you checked the homework of our children Sheila, Patrick and Elizabeth. You have to drive Timmy to Kindergarten tomorrow. It's your turn." 

"How many children do we have again?", Kevin asked with a smirk. 

"Four. And one is on the way," Daniel said, trying very hard, to keep his expression neutral. 

"I'm pregnant?" 

"Definitely." 

"Why are you laughing." 

"Nothing."

"How old are those b-? " 

"They are not- we've been married for ten years, Kevin." 

"And you haven't aged a day. Tell me, how was our wedding?", Kevin asked with a grin. 

Daniel answered with more confidence: "No wonder, you don't remember. You drank like an Irish person. There weren't many guests, because we don't have friends. The church was quite empty." 

"Ha. Now I know, you are lying. I can't enter churches or I'll go off in flames." 

They both chuckled lightly until they reached a house that looked like it could use a bit of fresh colour. 

"Here we are," Kevin said proudly. 

Inside it smelled of cold pizza and dust. 

The green screen hid most of the chaos. 

The floor was maybe a bit sticky on some parts, when they moved.  
Daniel looked around more closely.  
There was a lot of stuff. Just stuff, really.  
Nothing extraordinary. Just a mess. 

Kevin disappeared into the bedroom for a moment to hide the bag with the green pullover. 

When he came back, he quickly cleaned the sofa from some chocolate bar wrappers and empty boxes and then gestured for Daniel to come and sit next to him. 

Daniel sat down.  
The cushions were soft and next to him sat Kevin and smiled at him. 

This place felt like a home. 

"Would you like to play video games?" 

"Yes," was the only thing Dan managed to say. 

"There's this one game I've played for the YouTube channel," Kevin said as he picked up a laptop from under a pile of stuff. 

"Ah. Yeah. YouTube. What was your channels' name again?", Daniel asked very innocently like to hide the fact that he had watched every video on this channel. 

"Call me Kevin", he read from the computer screen. 

"Why are you smiling like that?", Kevin asked. 

"I just had to think of when we first met.  
That was how you introduced yourself." 

"That's definitely a coincidence. Do you want something to drink?" 

"Just some water, please." 

"I don't have that." 

"Really?" 

"Yeah. Have I mentioned that I'm one hundred percent Irish?" 

"At every opportunity." 

"So what kind of Irish juice would you like?" 

"Kev, I really think you shouldn't mix those with your meds."

"Whatever." 

"It's not good for the baby." 

Kevin lowered the glas he was holding again. He hesitated before he put it back on the table. 

"I might have some orange juice. Somewhere," he said. 

~~~

They played Mario Kart Wii for hours.  
Dan won most of the time and Kevin insisted that he just let him win because he was a good host.  
When they got too tired, it was way after midnight and they turned on the TV for Background noise. 

Neither of them paid attention, both were lost in their own thoughts.

"Good night," Kevin said quietly, when he realised, Dan's head had fallen against his shoulder. 

Dan snored as an answer. 

Kevin very carefully moved him so he lay on the couch more comfortably. Then he tucked him in with the cleanest blanket he could find. 

He watched him breathing in and out for a moment.  
He looked so young. So peaceful. 

Dan snored again and drooled a bit. 

"Rest well," Kevin said under his breath, before he turned to go to sleep in his bedroom. 

Then he stopped and hesitated.  
He turned around and gave him a quick kiss on the forehead. Leaning over him sent stitching pains through his body. He took in a breath sharply, as he started to feel a bit dizzy.  
Daniel smiled in his sleep.  
The pain had been worth it. 

The cover of his bed felt cold.  
It was odd to hug the green pullover to help him fall asleep like it had so often in the past, when only a room away there was the very huggable real Dan. 

~~~

"Do you think they are gonna mate?", Detective Mittens had asked as soon as the door was locked. 

"That's none of your business," Becky said. 

"Hey don't make that face. You were thinking the same thing." 

"It's one thing thinking it and a totally different thing saying it," Rose said. 

"Yeah!", Sir Fecker the Third said. 

"Shut up," several cats yelled. 

"You! You could have killed him.  
You could have killed yourself.  
How could you have been so...  
Irresponsible," Rose chided. 

The other cat was not impressed.  
"Something had to happen," Sir Fecker the Third said.

"We shouldn't have interfered," Schrödinger said. 

"Just look at it as one of your experiments..."

"As soon as you interact with an experiment the wrong way, you... you... you fleck it up. You are just proving my point," Schrödinger said. 

"I think we flecked up," Burnt Marshmallow said quietly after some time. 

"*I* flecked up," Sir Fecker the Third said as he sat down next to her. "Now everyone is mad at me." 

"Maybe Kevin should save Daddy. Then they would be even," Burnt Marshmallow said with confidence. 

There was whispering and hissing, and Burnt Marshmallow hid under a table, embarrassed. 

Everyone went quiet, when George stood up and walked over to the window to stare out of it.  
"In the end we are all alone and no one is there to save you," he said gravely. 

~~~

Across the street an elderly gentleman stared out of the window of the Moonbucks coffee shop right back at George.  
He had been standing there for a while.  
He had watched Daniel and Kevin.  
He had watched the cats. 

Now he was waiting, sipping coffee out of his special coffee cup. 

His name was written on it with something that looked like glitter-glue. 

The letters sparkled in the cold light of the café. 

They formed the name  
Jim Pickens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear children, please don't mix your meds with alcohol. 
> 
> Also: things are getting interesting  
> Trust me, I'm as excited as you.


	10. stuffy nose

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the lovely comments. I love them so much and thank you for reading this.
> 
> Now it's getting fluffy in here again.

"You look horrible," Kevin said when he reentered the living room after having a shower, the next morning. 

Dan was a lot whiter than the rarely washed blanket he was still wrapped in.  
"You look absolutely disgusting as well. You, with your incredible eyes, and your still damp hair and the shirt that has the top three buttons open-", Daniel said slowly before he bit his lips. 

Kevin put a hand on his forehead.  
"You are very hot and not only in the good way."

Daniel smiled weakly. Then he caughed. 

"You should stay here today and have some rest," Kevin said. 

"But I have to take care of the Edge of the Universe. The cats need to be fed and - " 

"I could do that. I watched you doing it a million times." 

"But-" 

"I can take care of the cat café." 

Daniel wanted to reply something, but he was distracted by almost coughing his lungs out.  
And he was still coughing, when Kevin made him a sandwich and some tea. 

~~~

In front of the Edge of the Universe Martha and Lauren already waited for him. 

"Hey, how's it going? Daniel is staying at home today because he is sick, so I'll just quickly take care of everything here, and then I'll have to very quickly get back and make sure he is ok." 

Martha and Lauren shared a look before they followed him inside. 

Kevin's phone beeped. 

D: Please don't burn anything.

Kevin took the fire extinguisher from the wall, to carry it around with him.  
Safety first. 

His phone beeped.  
Then the phone beeped again. 

D: Clean the litter boxes. 

D: They need fresh water. 

D: Brush Detective Mittens. 

D: Everyone get their food from the green bag. Except for George, Rose, Sir Fecker the Third and Becky. They get food from the red bag. 

D: Vacuum the hair. 

Kevin rolled his eyes and put the fire extinguisher down.  
Burnt Marshmallow tried to eat his shoelaces and he had to pick her up. 

Then his phone rang. For a moment, he was flabbergasted, because no one ever tried to call him and if they did, he didn't take the call, but now the phone said, that it was Dan and he could not *not* take the call. 

"You haven't been responding to my messages. Is the edge of the Universe still standing?", Daniel asked. 

"Everything is fine. And I've got Burnt Marshmallow right here. Would you like to talk to her?" 

"Kevin, I'm serious." 

"Lauren and Martha are here. They are helping because I can't raise my arms. I've got everything under control. TTYL. Sunglasses Emoji, blue heart Emoji," Kevin said and hung up, before Daniel could ask any more questions. 

He looked over at Lauren and Martha, who were crouching on the floor, cleaning up the mess a few of the cats had made. 

"I assume, in your days, guys where not such *******," Lauren whispered, rolling her eyes. 

"Back in my days we just died after accidents. Give him a break." 

"When I came here to buy a hot chocolate, I didn't think I had to clean up cat piss first.  
... Sorry. He is having a hard time. And I can only imagine how much it hurts." 

Kevin sat down on a chair next to them, writing on his phone. 

"You don't have to raise your arms to brush the cats," Martha told him in a voice, that made him jump to his feet. 

Lauren giggled.  
"What do you think about his Amnesia?", she asked. 

"It's not Amnesia it's Amnosia. That's why they said nothing at the hospital. 

"Aha," Lauren said and when Kevin approached them again covered in cat hair, she asked: "So. What are you doing later?" 

"I have to drop by the pharmacy. I hope he is doing better already. Being here without him is weird and I miss him," Kevin said while brushing Sir Fecker the third. 

"Your crush is really bad, huh?", Lauren said with a grin. 

He didn't reply, he just started to get maybe slightly red. 

"Amor fired an arrow through your heart," Lauren sang.

"I didn't get an arrow to my heart. That guy launched a fecking rocket."

Lauren and Martha giggled. 

"Do you want something to eat or something?", Kevin asked, while cleaning his hands on his pullover and ended up having his hands covered in even more cat hair. 

"Can you make a tea and a hot chocolate?", Martha asked. 

"Well, I can try." 

~~~

He fought with the machines, bitterly. Then he searched for the cinnamon for at least ten minutes.  
Martha kept complaining the whole time. 

Then the phone rang. To be precise it was the land-line of the Edge of the Universe that rang. 

He stared at it for a moment.  
It kept ringing. 

The display read 'The Devil'.  
He hesitated.  
It rang again. 

Then he took the call. 

Kevin waited in silence for the caller to say something. 

"Hello? Is this the Edge of the Universe? You haven't paid. You owe me about-" 

"No, this is Patrick," Kevin said and hung up. 

"What was that?", Lauren asked. 

"Probably nothing." 

"That didn't sound like nothing." 

"Here is your tea and your hot chocolate, anyway," Kevin said, grumpily. 

Martha got a cup of cold water with a fruit tea bag in it and Lauren got a cup filled with Marshmallows, a few sprinkles of cool milk and a bit of cinnamon. 

Neither of them had noticed the elderly gentleman, that had been watching them through the window.  
He entered with a weird smile but without a greeting. 

The man stood in front of the counter and stared at Kevin, until the younger one realised, what he might want. 

"Ah, yes. How can I help you, Sir?" 

"Espresso." 

Kevin fumbled with a few things. He only had a vague idea of what espresso had to look like. 

Then he remembered that he should say something comforting like Daniel would do. So when he turned around and gave that man a tiny cup of dark liquid, he said: "More espresso less depresso."

The man smiled at him, though it lacked all warmth. Just like the espresso. Then he took the cup and sat down at a table close to Martha and Lauren and continued to stare at him. He took one sip after another, his expression stayed like stone. 

"Have a good day, Sir," Kevin said, when the man stood up to leave. But then he gestured him to come closer. Kevin was a lot taller, but there was something about that man, which made him feel small. 

"This street isn't big enough for both of us," Jim Pickens whispered. 

Then he turned around and left. 

~~~

"We gotta go, now," Lauren said. 

"I'll make sure, all the lights are off. See you tomorrow or something," Kevin said. 

"Or something. Tomorrow I have to see the eye doctor again."

"More like you won't see him," Lauren said. 

"Do you like making fun of old women?" 

"But. I." 

"Honey,"Martha said in a very disappointed tone and shook her head. 

"Well. Goodbye, Kevin," Lauren said quickly. 

"Goodbye, Kevin." 

"Bye." 

He nodded at them before he entered the backroom and turned on the light, to make sure everything was alright. He looked around and then he turned the lights off. 

Then he turned them on again and walked around the room. Something was odd. 

Under the table where he had helped Emma with her homework, there were a blanket and a pillow. 

Had Daniel been sleeping here?  
He looked around.  
There were letters on the table. Letters with numbers. Most of them red.  
He picked them up, without even noticing what he was doing. Something about these letters gave him a very bad feeling in the stomach. 

Emma hadn't taught him enough, to fully understand, what was going on.  
But he knew one thing.  
And the thing was, that it looked bad. 

He turned off the lights. 

~~~

"I'm home, honey," Kevin yelled jokingly as soon as he had closed the door behind him. 

"Hi," Dan said. 

"It's lunch time. I brought food and medicine."

"The good stuff?" 

"The good stuff. You'll be on your feet in no time." 

"Thank you, Kevin." 

"You already look less dead."

"Thanks. It must be the good lighting."  
He still sounded quite weak. 

Kevin opened his mouth to reply something but then he closed it again.  
He hesitated. 

"Is something wrong?", Daniel asked. 

"Daniel, are you sleeping under a table?" 

"When I was a small Irish boi, I...,"he started, "I really wanted to be like Harry Potter. This is the next close thing I could get." 

"I can be the PS1 Hagrid to your Harry," Kevin said. 

Daniel laughed. "We could explore the forbidden forest together," he said suggestively coming a bit closer. 

"You shouldn't sleep on the floor, let me invite you into my cabin," Kevin said, leaning against the wall in front of him, his arms crossed. 

"I'm already here. What should we do next?" 

"Well...," Kevin started, but then he sensed, that something was wrong. Dan seemed nervous. The wrong kind of nervous. 

"You can't live like this," Kevin said softly. 

Daniel stepped back and closed his eyes for a moment.  
"I can - and I had long enough," he said between gritted teeth. 

"Stay at my place." 

"But it looks like -" 

"But you wouldn't have to sleep on the floor." 

"But I can't possibly..." 

"I just want to help you out a bit. Just let me fecking help you." 

"God!"

"No need to call me that."  
Daniel gave a short laugh, but Kevin grabbed his hands and held them. They were cold, wet and shaky. But with the touch, he seemed to calm down. 

"Let me help you."

Dan looked in every direction, but in Kevin's. 

"No." 

With a faster motion, than either of them had expected, Kevin grabbed Daniels chin and forced him to look at him.  
"Please. Let me help you. You deserve so much better."  
Daniel stared in these eyes that were so full of worry and softness, that it almost made him tear up. 

"Ok. Alright," he said. 

Kevin moved back immediately and clapped his hands.  
"Perfect! Now let's microwave some lunch! I hope you like your pizza dry." 

~~~

After they finished eating, they sat together on the couch again. 

Daniel got wrapped into blankets which was much too warm, but immensely comfortable, anyway.  
Still he felt a sense of embarrassment because Kevin saw him like this.  
Hair unwashed, teary eyes, red nose. He didn't want to know, what he smelled like right now. 

"Why do you look at me like that?", Daniel asked nervously, when he noticed Kevin watching him. 

"You look like a burrito," he answered with a smile. "I like burritos.... Are you sitting comfortably? Do you need anything?" 

Dan sighed. "I'm fine. I'm perfect. - Do you realise that I'm supposed to take care of you, since you are the one that got hit by a car and I'm just having a stupid cold." 

"It's ok. I'm feeling a lot better and I' m glad if I can help you." 

"I'm useless," Daniel said under his breath. 

Kevin wondered if he even wanted to say that out loud. 

"Your anxiety is lying to you." 

"I know." 

Kevin lost focus and played with a loose thread from the couch. When he looked at Daniel again, he said: "I'm kinda useless as well, though. I never tried to help anyone who was ill, before. I don't even know what to do. Should I bathe you?" 

Daniel bit his lips.  
But then he shook his head. 

"Is there anything else I could do for you?" 

Again Daniel hesitated. 

"What is it?", Kevin asked. 

Daniel shook his head once more.  
"It sounds ridiculous." 

"Tell me." 

"Would you. Would you tell me a story?" 

"Hell yeah," Kevin said with a wide grin and sat up. 

Daniel looked up at him.  
"Really?" 

Kevin theatrically cleared his throat.  
"Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin.  
Once upon a time there was a goat.  
It was a very pretty goat. Her tongue went all the way up.  
It was so long, it could be wrapped around a boat three times.  
And it was a special goat in more than one way. It was a space goat. Its mission was clear.  
Create chaos.  
Destroy all humankind.  
Also find goldcoins. 

You know, the usual stuff.  
Anyway.  
It was a bright september morning, when the space ship crashed into the planet area.  
All she wanted to be was a hero. But she also didn't want to put any effort in it.  
'Baa', said the goat..."

He stopped, when he saw that Daniel had fallen asleep. Kevin played on his phone for a while. 

When Dan woke up again, they ate Dinner and then Kevin turned on the Wii and they played several rounds of Mario Party 4, until both their heads started to hurt. They both had to laugh very hard every time Daniel pressed the pause button in the middle of important actions, when he had to clean his nose.  
Kevin then made some tea and sat back down with Daniel. 

"How did the space goat story end?" 

"They married and lived happily ever after." 

"This sounds nice," Daniel said and yawned. 

Dan was already falling half asleep when it was time for bed. He had his feet in Kevin's lap, who was holding them warm, when he realised that he had never felt this safe before in his life.  
Kevin watched him breathing in and out. Watched him, when his hair fell in his eyes. Watched him when a tiny smile played around his lips, which he imagined to be very soft... 

Kevin cleared his throat to get Daniels attention. 

"I'm selling the game shop."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic also got a spotify playlist if anyond is interested.
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4vs1LcU8XXzX7B7RKSpLyW?si=Jx0SKHVCSVmAT6TyCrYuHQ
> 
> These are the songs I listen to while writing.
> 
> Have fun


	11. movie night and video game day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey there, friends hows it goin'?  
> I can't thank you enough for the lovely comments.  
> And it really helps when I'm told, what you guys like. And it is just more fun to write when I know exactly which lines will make who laugh. <3
> 
> I actually wanted to post this a few days ago.
> 
> Also one thing I'd like to mention: I'm not sure if I should name names, but to the two of us who had birthday, I'd like to say Happy Birthday again.  
> The part with the cold feet is dedicated to our lord of the feet.  
> I also wanted to write paragraph only about hands, but then I did the song instead.
> 
> Anyway: please leave your favourite body part in the comments.
> 
> This chapter is only fluff with a little bit of fluff on the side and also extra fluff.
> 
> The Jim Pickens Subplot will continue in the chapter after that one. We'll also get a bit more of the cat cafe and everyones favourite character Martha will also be back in the chapter after that one.
> 
> This chapter is only Dan and Kevin and cuteness.
> 
> Edit:  
> And I just got another Fanart, which is so amazing and I'm so grateful and I appreciate you so much. Just kwjdflsdhfl. I can't believe this is really happening.  
> Lots of love to you.

"You are selling the game shop?", Daniel asked flatly. 

"Yes." 

"Why?" 

"You know. The accident." 

"Okay." 

It was not okay.  
Daniel didn't know what to say. Could Kevin live from just his YouTube money?  
They fell back into silence.  
He worried for Kevin.  
And he hated whoever had done this to him with all the darkness in him he could find. It made his stomach hurt just to think about how close it had been that he could have just lost - 

He clenched his teeth and tried to get his thoughts into another direction. Kevin was very safe and very alive right next to him right now. So everything was fine. Right? RIGHT? 

He knew, court was still going and it didn't look good for Kevin. Daniel wanted to help him so badly, but he knew that there wasn't much he could do.

It was not 'okay'. 

He sighed. There was nothing he could do at the moment, he told himself. 

"Do you have a toothbrush?", Daniel asked to distract himself from his thoughts. He hadn't planned on staying with Kevin. But he had also forgotten to ask him to bring him his own one from the café. 

"Of course I have a toothbrush." 

Dan followed Kevin into the bathroom, one blanket hanging around his shoulders like a Cape. 

"See?", Kevin said. "I do brush my teeth every now and then." 

"I'd also like to brush my teeth." 

"Yeah, you can borrow it." 

Daniel stared at the blue toothbrush, Kevin was holding in front of him. 

"You are joking, right?" 

"Why?" 

"Don't you have a spare one?" 

"Unfortunately not. You can use mine, though." 

"Umm." 

"Did you know, that a kiss is more hygienic than a handshake?"

Dan imagined grabbing Kevin's hand, throwing the toothbrush away, and then pulling him close, before pinning him against the door while kissing him like-

"And using the same toothbrush can't be worse, than kissing someone, right?", Kevin asked. 

"Huh?" Daniel had stopped paying attention.  
What were they talking about?  
Kevin looked at him weirdly, again.  
What was happening?  
His knees got very weak, when the taller one stepped close to him. But in the next moment, Daniel had the toothbrush in his hands and Kevin had walked past him and exited the bathroom. 

"Well, shit," Dan said. 

_______

When Dan exited the bathroom, Kevin was just coming back from the kitchen with a glass of water. 

"I missed you," Kevin said dramatically. 

"I missed you, too," Daniel answered. 

Then they said nothing for what felt like a really long time.  
They stood in front of the bathroom for at least three more minutes. The ticking of the clock was extremely loud and their feet were getting cold. With a small smirk Dan realised, that they were both wearing two different socks. 

Kevin opened his mouth but then he hesitated before saying: "I should go to bed." 

Daniel hesitated as well before answering. "And I should go to couch." 

"Good night," Kevin said, with a small smile. 

"Sleep tight," Daniel answered, leaning against the wall. 

"Don't let the couch bugs bite." 

Then they both left in opposite directions. Hand on the door handle, Kevin gave him one last smile.  
Then the door was closed. 

Daniel stared at the door and frowned. His feet were getting really cold. The floor was cold and the wall was cold. Everything was cold.  
He sat down on the couch and stared at his socks. One was green and one was blue with white stripes. Why couldn't he do... Something? Anything!  
Anything to let Kevin know how he felt. But hopefully subtle. But also in a way he could make it look like a joke if Kevin didn't like him back. Pinning him against the bathroom door without warning wouldn't have been the best approach to this anyway. 

*Hey, listen I'm totally into you but I'm totally kidding unless you like me back-*

In his mind Kevin just shook his head and walked away, while Dan started laughing hysterically. 

Deep in his thoughts, he didn't hear the bedroom door opening again. 

"You still up?", Kevin asked. 

Daniel jumped and couldn't hide getting red. 

But Kevin didn't seem to notice. He yawned and said: "Now that I think about it. You should be actually afraid of couch bugs. I might have to protect you from them. Move over."

"I-" 

The sofa shifted, as Kevin sat down close to him.  
"Lauren just called. She and Noemi will take care of the cat café tomorrow." 

"Oh, that's so nice of them." 

"Do you know what that means?" 

"That I might have to pay them?" 

"Nonsense. They are our friends. It means we can have a lie in, tomorrow. And *this* means we can now have a pyjama party." 

He tried to read his friends' expression, but for him it was almost impossible.  
"Let's eat snacks and watch movies. How does that sound?" 

"Sounds great." 

Neither of them were wearing pyjamas. Just oversized old shirts.  
But that would work too. 

"Would you like to watch something with cats?", Kevin asked.  
He had totally not planned to have Daniel over so it was completely by chance, that he had a lot of cat related movies. He had been feeling old fashioned and now he went through a stack of DVDs. 

"Cats?", Daniel asked. 

"Yeah. I'm thinking 'Garfield the movie' for example. Or 'Minusch'. Or 'Aristocats'. And for the nightmares I got 'cats'." 

They watched all of them.  
And they also ate snacks. 

___

When Kevin woke up the next morning, he had one arm wrapped around Daniel. He also had some of his fluffy hair in his mouth. How did that happen? They must have fallen asleep during the last movie. 

Dan shifted in his sleep and Kevin didn't dare to move, because he didn't want to wake him. Dan murmured something without waking up, before he cuddled closer into his arms.  
With horror Kevin saw, that he had drooled on Dan's shirt in his sleep. Hopefully he wouldn't notice. And hopefully he could stay like that for ever or maybe a bit longer.  
Deciding he wanted the real Dan in his arms instead of just the Green pullover had been the best decision he could have made. At some point last night they had just shuffled closer to each other and Dan had leaned his head against his shoulder. The shoulder had hurt. But it would have hurt more if Dan didn't have his head there, he had thought and not said anything. The couch was too small for him and it really was too small for both of them. But this also meant that they could be very close together.  
In his eyes, it was the perfect couch.  
Now he concentrated hard to calm his breathing, so his pounding heart wouldn't wake up Dan. Too bad, Dan hadn't understood his literal invitation to kiss him, last night. Or maybe he just didn't want to. Whatever. It was nice to have him by his side at all. Kissing or no kissing. Dan was very close and very real right in his arms, right in this moment, and it was enough.  
'no, it's not enough', one of the voices in Kevin's head said. Maybe the voice was right. 'it'll never be enough.'  
He ignored the voice as good as he could. 

Dan shifted again. Then he made a sound that could have been a 'good morning'. But it also could have been anything else. 

Kevin reluctantly pulled his arm back.  
"Warm," Dan murmured more audibly and cuddled closer against Kevin again.  
With all the bravery Kevin could collect inside of him, he wrapped his arms around Dan again. He smiled as he heard some contend sounding noises. 

They both jumped when the doorbell rang. 

"You should probably see, who that is," Dan said. 

"But bed warm." 

"What if something happened?", Daniel asked as he turned to look at him. 

*Even if outside the world would go down in flames it wouldn't matter as long as you are here with me. *  
The bell rang again.  
"Okay. Fine," Kevin said instead, but still didn't move. 

"Kevin," Dan said warningly and pushed him into the corner of the couch and they both had to chuckle. 

"Yeah. I'm already on my way." 

With a groan, Kevin went for the door.  
He really hoped, Dan would still be there, when he got back. 

"I need the key for the café," Noemi said, without a greeting, as he opened the door. 

"Sure. Wait a moment," he said before he went to search through his jacket pockets for the key he had used the day before. 

"I'll wait."

"Here you go." 

"Thanks." She nodded at him and turned to leave. 

"Wait. How do you know, where I live?" 

"You have it on your Facebook. You should be more careful with that," Noemi said. 

"Yeah. Right."  
He scratched his head. 

When he got back, his disappointment was immeasurable and his day was ruined, because Dan wasn't on the couch anymore.  
He found him in the kitchen, rummaging through cupboards. 

After breakfast, Kevin had to write some e-mails because of selling the game shop.  
It was annoying. But it had to be done. And he should have done it a lot earlier anyway. Meanwhile Dan watched some videos on YouTube and Kevin couldn't help but notice which channel he was watching. And that knowledge gave him a very warm feeling. 

He was done after two hours. In the meantime, Dan had fallen asleep again.  
But woke up, when Kevin sat down next to him.

"We could play some more video games," Kevin said. 

"Sounds good." 

"Would you like to... You know..." 

"What?" 

"Make a video for the channel? - You can say 'no' if you don't want to. It would be no problem at all." 

"It would be an honour." 

Kevin beamed at him as an answer. 

Curiously, Dan watched him setting everything up. 

The light. The camera. The green screen.  
The light hurt his eyes and he started to sweat as soon as he sat down. 

Kevin kicked some stuff behind the green screen, before he got a second chair and sat down next to him in front of the computer. 

Mesmerised, Dan watched Kevin's hands fly over the keyboard. 

"Hello there friends how is it going my name is Kevin. And today we are doing something a little bit different. I present to you my boy- my boi. This is..."  
He gestured towards Daniel. 

"H- Hello there. I'm R.... T...." 

"You are what?", Kevin mouthed. 

"Sorry, I panicked." 

Kevin cleared his throat loudly and continued. "Anyway. Today we are going to play the Sims 4," he said with a side glance. "I thought we could start a new game, create our own Sims and see how it goes." 

Dan nodded. 

"Say something," Kevin mouthed. 

"Okay," Dan said into the mic. 

Kevin gestured at him to continue. 

Dan leaned forward towards the mic again. "Okay. Kevin." 

"Oh no the power is going off."  
Kevin stopped the video for a moment. 

"I'm sorry," Dan said immediately. 

"Nothing to be sorry about. Being nervous is normal. Forget the camera-"

"But-" 

"Don't look at the camera. Look at me. Pretend it's just you and me. It's just you and me and no one else." 

"Okay." 

"Are you ready?" 

"Yes." Dan nodded bravely. 

"Oh no. We had technical issues. But now we are back. No need to be nervous, RT. I only bite when I'm hungry. Or when there is only soup on the menu. Do you know what I mean?"

Dan stared at him intensely. Then he said:  
"I know that feeling. When you just need something in your mouth." 

Kevin had to cough to cover up his laugh.  
"What is your view on cannibalism, RT?" 

"I think it would solve both the problems of world hunger and overpopulation." 

"Great answer." 

"Thank you." 

"But lets start the game. First we have to..." 

Dan smiled at Kevin thankfully. And under the table Kevin squeezed his hand gently for a moment. 

"What is your favourite kind of hair, RT?" 

"Blondish-gingerish? But short and a tiny bit culy at the top." 

"Like that?" 

"No." 

Dan put his hand on Kevin's and lead the mouse. 

"The eyes need to be more blueish .... And the lips need to be thinner." 

Dan felt his hand starting to sweat and moved it away again. 

"No. You take the mouse, RT. What shirt should he wear?" 

"The yellow one. No. Wait. I like the white one best. The one with the first buttons open." 

"Normal jeans and boring shoes?" 

"Perfect." 

"Why does it look like me?"

"It doesn't look like you." 

Kevin grinned. "Okay, what should we call this handsome little guy then?" 

"I'm naming him 'Kevyn' with a 'y'." 

"There we go. He can live in a cheap house. What should he do, now?" 

"Let him watch TV." 

"Alright... What now?" 

"Now he needs a friend. Everyone needs a friend." 

"Okay. I'm making one this time. Mine has really fluffy brown hair," Kevin said with a mischievous grin. "I like his red shirt best." 

"He looks gorgeous." 

"His name is 'Danyel' with a 'y' and I lo- I lost my marbles."  
He giggled nervously. 

"Okay.... Mine is going to be a singer. By the way," Daniel with an 'i' said. 

"Mine is going to be a writer."

"Where should Danyel with a 'y' live? Ahhh. Apparently you can't make him live in a dumpster." 

"Hey." 

"Apparently he also can't live on the streets, because I haven't bought the Sims Homeless Pack." 

"We should let them move in together."

"Oh yes, they are now room mates."  
Kevin kicked a few things while trying to look very professional in front of Daniel. "Then we should let Kevyn with a 'y' have a gig and Danyel with a 'y' should write a book. Meanwhile let's look at the other Sims in town." 

"What are you doing?", Daniel asked, staring at the screen and then at Kevin. 

"Science." 

"Jesus." 

"When you leave a Sim burning for too long they appearantly die. Just as I expected."

"Why are you like this?", Daniel asked. But the way he smiled at him suggested that he didn't mind at all. 

"That's just another quirky part of my personality." 

"What has he done to you?" 

"He looked at me the wrong way." 

"Burning him alive is not a solution." 

Under the table their legs touched and neither of them wanted to move, so they both sat awkwardly still to not break contact.  
"Fire is always a solution. And sometimes it is the best solution." 

"I respectfully disagree." 

"Your opinion is wrong and I don't like you anymore." 

"I don't like you either." 

"Sleep with one eye open,... Punk." 

"I'm shocked and also upset. I never expected this behavior from you. You are the devil, Kevin." 

"I'm a good christian boi, as I have told you repeatedly, RT." 

"You need Jesus. But that guy is always busy. Isn't he? Maybe I could be your angel and lead your way back to the light."

"Light which isn't fire?"

"Maybe I should lead you into the darkness then, instead." 

They smiled at each other.  
And in Kevin's eyes Dan could see fire burning. Fire of dead Sims and maybe of something else. 

_______

In the evening Kevin did the editing and the upload. When he could finally turn off the computer, Daniel was already fast asleep on the couch.  
Vaguely disappointed, Kevin went to the bedroom. 

"Sweet dreams, angel," Kevin said quietly before he closed the door behind him. 

___


	12. Wise men say

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to thank you once again for the comments. I appreciate them so much and oh my God the fanart.  
> You are the best!
> 
> Please enjoy this chapter. I've been working on it for a long time.

The next morning, Daniel felt well enough to return to the café. 

Kevin had nothing else to do and no where else to be. So of course he came along. 

Walking there was nice. It was great to breathe in fresh air again. 

When they got to the edge of the universe, they saw there was a note pinned to the front door.  
Daniel angrily ripped it, before Kevin could read it.  
Kevin was still a slow reader. 

"What was that?" 

"Nothing," Dan said, his voice was shaking. 

Kevin decided to talk to him about it later, when he had calmed down. 

____

The morning was quiet. 

The cats were very happy to see Dan again. They greeted him with happy cat noises. 

Dan took his time to brush all of them and talk to them individually while sitting on the floor. 

And Burnt Marshmallow insisted on getting carried around like a scarf by Kevin.  
A very scratchy and angry scarf.  
Kevin didn't mind. He watched Daniel, but couldn't quite understand, what he was telling the cats but they seemed to listen. 

____

"What are you worrying about?", Kevin asked as they sat together in the cat café, having lunch. 

"Nothing."

"Fecking bullshit."

"I'm Okay," Daniel replied a lot quieter. 

"First of all you are a terrible liar. Then there is the fact, that you completely destroyed your lunch. I don't know what that poor fecking salad ever did to you, but I'm sure it is really sorry."

"I'm fine." 

"You can't go on like this. What was that note about?"

"Then what are you suggesting? Mr Pickens is after my ass," Dan said, without being able to look at him. 

"We could run away together."

For a moment Dan imagined taking Kevin's hand and then just starting running. They could live on a farm with sheep and quietness. Somewhere far away from the noise and the people and the obligations. Lonely but still not lonely because they had each other.  
How would it be to wake up every morning next to Kevin, when the first rays of sunshine danced through the windows?  
No.  
This was ridiculous. 

"We can't just run away together," Daniel said and stood up to clean the table. 

"The train is going fast towards a cliff but we are in this together. And we will fecking survive," Kevin said as he followed him back to the kitchen. 

"Why are you even still here?", Dan asked and for some reason he sounded mad. 

"You saved my life." 

"And now you think you owe me something," Dan said between gritted teeth. 

"Feck no. Actually you now have to take care of me, because you are responsible for me still being here.  
I'm your fecking problem now." 

"Just look at what you did to the kitchen again. I told you to- never mind." 

"God wanted me dead and now you get to find out why." 

In that moment Martha entered and they both took a step away from each other, like they were embarrassed. 

Martha acted like she hadn't noticed anything unusual. 

"The usual," she said as she sat down at her favourite table and started feeding her favourite cats. 

\-----

While Dan prepared something in the backroom, Kevin got surprised by another guest. 

"Hi," they said. 

"Hi. Wait. I know you. You are the rescue cat person."

Jill nodded. 

"How's it going?" 

"Meh," Jill said. 

And Kevin felt that somehow. 

"Your voice sounds so familiar," Jill said. 

"It's because we talked before." 

"No, it's something else." 

"I don't know what you're talking about. What can I bring you?" 

"I'd like some Cappuccino and waffles. But I can wait till Dan is back." 

"I'm fully capable of making cappuccino. Watch me." 

"I'm watching you." 

Kevin fought with the machines and produced some room temperature light brown liquid.

"Thank you," Jill said slowly, not sure if they should start an argument about the state of the beverage or if it just wasn't worth it. 

"Wait," Kevin said. 

"Yeah?" 

"More Cappuccino - less depressino."

"Wow. That one hurt." 

Then Dan came back. He looked at the cappuccino then he looked at Kevin. 

"Kevin, please sit down." 

"But-" 

"Sit down in the corner." 

Kevin muttered something, but he did what he said and started playing something on his phone. 

"You need to get your boyfriend under control," Martha said from her place, which made Jill giggle. 

"I- it's-he- nevermind." 

Then he just turned around and acted like he was busy making the waffles. 

"Hey. Dan. Dan. Dan. Have you watched our video yet?", Kevin suddenly yelled. 

"No, not yet." 

"We got so many views! It's crazy. People in the comments are going crazy.  
Take that, James," he said quieter as he suddenly stood next to Dan again. 

"I feel so used," Dan whispered. 

"O shit, sorry I-"  
Kevin looked really worried, but Daniel just grinned. 

"Use me. Use me like a handkerchief," he said. 

They burst into giggles. 

"What is your opinion on doing stuff in front of a video camera," Daniel asked Martha as he brought her a plate with ice cream and chocolate mouse. 

Martha looked at both of them and without missing a beat she answered: "It's alright, as long as you had three dates before."

Taking a sip of water in that exact moment was a huge mistake for Jill, as the water went right through their nose. 

"You still alive?", Kevin asked as he gave them some tissues. 

"Of course they are fine. They are still young. I am the one you should be worried about."

"Martha, you are the healthiest person I know," Dan said. 

She shrugged.  
"You know what they say: After eighty every year without a gravestone is a milestone. "

"Is she always like that?", Jill asked. 

"She's very sweet. She just doesn't like to show it," Daniel said. 

~~~

About an hour later, Martha and Jill had said their goodbyes and Kevin and Dan were alone with the cats again.  
And then Kevin realised, he was alone with the cats. 

"Daniel, where are you?" 

No answer.  
Burnt Marshmallow scratched the door. 

"What do you need?" 

"Mreooww!" 

Kevin slowly approached the door. 

"Daniel?" 

He found him sitting on the floor in the backroom, arms wrapped around his knees. 

"Oh my god, what happened?" 

"I'll have to close 'The Edge Of The Universe'."

"You what?" 

"I can't pay the rent anymore." 

"You can't just close it." 

"I'll have no choice." 

"Hey, don't cry," Kevin said softly. 

He clumsyly put his arms around Daniels waist, as the other one just let his head fall against his chest and started sobbing heavily. 

"We'll find a way." 

"Kevin-" 

"We'll find a fecking way, I promise." 

"There is nothing you can do." 

"I'll do whatever it takes to make you happy." 

"Kevin-" 

"No, I've already got an idea." 

"What is it?" 

"The money from the game shop. I've sold it. Remember?" 

Dan had started to shake his head violently. "No!" 

"But it's no problem at all." 

Dan shoved him away.  
"Yes, it is. Yes, it is a problem. It's your money and I don't want it. Besides just paying bills with money from somewhere else will not help the fact, that this café is empty most of the time." 

"OK. I have another idea." 

"Please, Kevin. Don't burn anything." 

"OK, I have another idea." 

Daniel sighed and finally let himself fall into Kevin's arms. He held him until the tears had dried. 

"Everything will be fine. I promise. Let me take care of everything," Kevin whispered close to his ear. 

~~~

Two days passed and finally the big day had come.  
Dan was probably even more nervous than Kevin. 

"This will work," Kevin said with a lot of confidence. 

"I really do hope so," Dan said. 

Kevin laid a hand on his shoulder for a moment, before pulling it away again and picking up Burnt Marshmallow instead.

"Your cats told me, you are worried that everyone coming tonight will fall in love with me." 

"OK. Who of you snitched?", Dan asked angrily. "No dinner until-" 

"Hey it was a joke," Kevin said. "...They don't really talk to you, do they?" 

"Of course not." 

"Soooo. Do you wanna have lunch?"

"Just have to finish something, then we can go have lunch."

Dan went into the backroom while Kevin sat down and watched the cats suspiciously. 

"Does any one of you talk? Because I wouldn't tell anyone." 

The cats ignored him and Kevin started to feel stupid. 

He played on his phone for a while until he realised, that Daniel had been gone for several minutes. 

He found Daniel with red eyes and an odd expression. 

"What happened?", Kevin asked. 

"Nothing."

"You can tell me." 

There was a long pause until Daniel finally said:  
"I shouldn't make you do this. This is huge and I feel... Guilty? I don't want to be your problem." 

"You are not my problem. I mean. You are my problem but in a good way. I chose to do this. - And this was my idea after all." 

"Kevin?" 

"Yes?" 

"I don't know how to thank you enough." 

"You could make another hot chocolate.  
I'm going to need it." 

"Of course."

A live stream with the option to give money to save the cat café but also a karaoke night had been Kevins idea.  
An attempt to save the cat café. The last days he had spent calling people and organizing everything. 

"You are also worrying about that guy from the other café.... What exactly was written on that note?", Kevin asked carefully. For some reason he had kept thinking about it. The note and Dan's reaction to it. 

"He is going to kill the person I love," Dan said flat out, staring at the floor in front of him. 

He hadn't expected that.  
"Fecking son of a bitch." 

"Kevin. I made my mind up and I still try to figure out how to say it. I... You... - I'll just say it right now. I want you to leave, Kevin. You are in danger." 

"I'm not going anywhere. Why should I." 

There was a pause and Kevin had no idea what to do. Should he just hug him or-

"I don't want you to die," Daniel looked up at him and there were tears in his eyes. 

That was the moment when Kevin realised.  
*I'm going to kill the person you love. *  
*I don't want you to die*

He cleared his throat. Then he took Dan's hands in his.  
"Empty threats. If a stupid car couldn't kill me, neither can a stupid fecking old man. I'm not leaving you, Daniel.  
Who does he even think he is? Why would he even want to do that?" 

"He is evil. Is there more reason, you need?" 

"Being evil for the sake of being evil, huh? In another reality we would be best friends." 

"I think he is dangerous," Daniel said. 

"So am I. I will protect both of us." 

"But-" 

Then the door opened and the first guests arrived. They were greeted by the cats. Both- humans and cats- seemed delighted.  
"Clean your face, I'm going to take their order," Kevin said and squeezed Daniels hands, reassuringly.  
He hesitated, but then he obeyed. 

Then more guests arrived.  
Lauren came with some of her colleagues and so did Noemi, as well as Jill. 

It was almost 7 when Martha came with a few friends her age, that she had more or less kidnapped from the local retirement home.  
Dan was surprised to find out, that there weren't enough cats for every person. Some had to share a cat. But it worked.  
It worked perfectly fine. And humans and cats seemed happy. 

Almost all the seats were taken when Noemi helped Kevin build up the cheap karaoke machine. 

Emma had to take care of the camera.  
She was elected to record everything because she was the one in their small group of friends who was most capable of doing just that. 

Daniel served tea and cake and muffins and donuts and he still felt bad for making Kevin do this. He knew that Kevin didn't want to sing in front of people. And he knew he was a bad friend for making him do this. Jesus, he was even a worse friend for knowing he was in danger and not being able to do anything about it.  
Everything got really quiet, when Kevin finally stood on the tiny stage they had built. 

Dan turned and faced Kevin the exact moment, he started playing the ukulele - 

He was mesmerised. 

Kevin only looked at him when he started singing with the voice of an angel.  
Looked at him like he meant it. 

"Shall I stay  
Would it be a sin,  
If I can't help falling in love with you."

Time freckled. Dan felt like fainting. And so did most of the guests. 

"Take my hand  
Take my whole life too,  
For I can't help falling in love with you." 

The applause after that went on forever. 

"Sing a duet!", someone yelled as Noemi and Lauren took the microphone from Kevin. 

"Any wish?", Noemi asked

"Ring of fire!", Kevin yelled. 

"That's not a duet," Lauren said. 

"Ring of fire," Kevin yelled again. 

When the music started playing, Kevin went over to Dan, took the tray from his hands and gave it to Jill. 

"Daniel Condren, would you dance with me?" 

His eyes grew big.  
"Yes."  
Kevin pulled him towards a corner of the café, where he had put the chairs and tables aside earlier. 

Then they started dancing.  
It was clear, Kevin had no idea what he was doing, since he just hugged Daniel closely and did some waltz steps completely out of rhythm. But that didn't make the experience any less magical. 

Some of the guests stood up and danced, too. 

When the song ended, they kept standing in a deep embrace.  
Time to be really romantic, Kevin thought. This was his chance. 

"Dan?", he whispered. 

"Yeah?", Daniel asked, leaning back a tiny bit, to look in his eyes. 

Kevin's heart started to pound like crazy.  
What if...  
No.  
"You have something in your face," Kevin said. 

"What is it?" 

He cupped his cheek and tilted his head. "Me."  
Then he kissed him. 

That was when time stopped for both of them. It was warm and soft and just wonderful. And they suddenly felt like nothing could ever hurt them.  
The next song had almost ended, when they remembered how to breathe again. 

One of the group of lawyers, which had come with Lauren, was currently having a rap battle with one of Noemis physicist friends.  
After it was clear, that he was losing, the physicist stopped and picked up Schrödinger to hold him in front of the microphone. Schrödinger made a loud hungry cat sound and everyone cheered. 

"Jesus," Dan said breathlessly. 

"No need to call me that. But you weren't that bad either."

"Thank you. Wait until I show you some sick moves I learned on Dating simulator." 

"I know some moves as well. Just wait until we are alone." 

"Oh shit I forgot. I should bring the plates back," Dan said hurriedly. 

The thought of being able to make Dan forget everything else, made Kevin smile. 

"We can continue later." 

As an answer Dan gave him another, shorter kiss before he started to hurry behind the counter.  
Jill had started helping with the guests as soon as they realised Dan was being busy. But he still had to make hot chocolates for everyone. No one could make hot chocolates like Dan. 

Meanwhile Kevin went back to the stage and sung three songs in a row, because everyone regardless of age or gender was crazy for him. Careless whisper, toxic and another round of ring of fire. 

But still, he had only eyes for Dan.  
And it filled Dans heart with pride, to know that after all, Kevin was his. 

Then he sang a fourth one. Wonderland.  
The cats seemed to enjoy it.  
This had to be their song.  
Wait. There had also been Ring of Fire and Careless Whisper.  
Dan decided, when you really love someone, your love is sometimes enough for several songs. 

None of them noticed the elderly gentleman watching them through the windows. 

His face like stone. But there was something wicked behind his eyes. 

Suddenly there was a loud noise, when a window shattered. 

Inside it went completely quiet, while the cats and the physicists hid, the elderly ran outside to find out what happened and the lawyers discussed whether to call the police.  
There was no one outside. 

Dan picked up the brick that had crashed through the window. 

"Don't touch that" , Lauren said a bit too late. 

A piece of paper was fixated to the brick by a rubber band. 

"Leave the city or everyone you love dies. This time I'm also talking about the cats. Also you look stupid," Lauren read out loud. 

"Dan, you need to go to the police." 

"The police wouldn't do anything. They are scared themselves." , Dan said. He sounded somehow absent. 

"Are you serious? You can't be serious. How is that behaviour even possible. What is it? Does he want money?", Lauren asked. 

"People have went in there and never came back," he said while staring at the coffee shop on the opposite side of the road. 

Lauren shook her head and then went into a quiet corner of the room, to make a phonecall. 

After that, most of the guests helped cleaning up and then left generous tips before leaving.  
Three people fixed the window as good as they could with pieces of old cardboard boxes and a lot of tape. 

Then they started to leave. A lot of them promised to come back soon.  
Emma gave the camera back and left with Noemi and Lauren who looked very worried.  
Martha winked at them before she left.  
One elderly lady tried to sneak out a cat, before Kevin caught her. 

"It's fine. She can borrow a cat," Dan said. "But bring her back every now and then so she can see her friends." 

"I will."  
The lady smiled brightly.  
She put the cat in her huge handbag, where it could sit comfortably in a pile of knitting stuff and seemed perfectly happy. 

Then Dan and Kevin were alone again. 

"Are you coming home?", Kevin asked with a yawn. 

"No. I'm staying. I have to protect the café. Maybe he comes back," Dan said slowly. 

"OK. Then I stay with you." 

"The note said-" 

"I know. I'm staying anyway. I can't leave you alone like this."

"But-" 

"I'm not going to discuss this."

"Fine." 

They put some towels and their jackets on the floor in the middle of the Café to form a bed.  
The cats watched them curiously.  
"You guys wake us when something happens", Daniel whispered. 

"Mreoow", said a brown and white spreckled cat. 

"I know," Daniel answered. 

Dan got some knives from the kitchen to have them close to him in case of an emergency and Kevin took the fire extinguisher, because it was the, in his opinion, scariest thing he could find.  
Then they laid down next to each other, while the cats went back to their usual sleeping places.  
It was the most uncomfortable thing ever. 

"Kevin?", Daniel whispered. 

"Yes?" 

"Thank you."

As an answer, Kevin leaned over him, ran a hand through his hair and gave him a kiss. Then another one.  
Dan pulled him close and kissed his neck, but suddenly Kevin took in a sharp breath. 

"Oh shit. Your shoulders must hurt like -" 

"Everything is fine as long as you are my pillow," Kevin reassured him. 

And with that he hugged him like a Teddy Bear, which made both of them giggle like schoolboys again, and soon they fell asleep, more than tired from this stressful day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please please please tell me what you think about this chapter.  
> Every comment is appreciated from in depth analysis to keysmash and heart emojis.


	13. fire extinguisher

Kevin woke up in the middle of the night, because he heard something.  
Also his shoulders hurt.  
Next to him, Dan murmured something in his sleep. His hair smelled of coffee.  
Then there was the noise again.  
Carefully Kevin freed himself from the tangle of legs and arms and went to find out what had made the noise.  
His head hurt a bit, from being tired. And he felt dizzy, as he walked to the door. 

Through the glass of the door he could see to the other side of the street.  
The lights of the Moonbucks café were still on.  
Was the sound coming from there? It sounded like screaming or maybe crying. 

Something moved and he saw Burnt Marshmallow sitting down at his feet.  
Kevin smiled at her and picked her up.  
She hissed quietly. 

"I can't believe this day really happened. Daniel really loves me, huh? This is so..."  
He turned and watched Daniel for a moment. 

"I can't leave him alone right now. Look at him, he is sleeping like an angel. And he can kiss like..." 

The cat looked at him questioningly. 

"I don't know. He's the best thing that could happen to me," Kevin said and looked over his shoulder at the still sleeping Dan. He frowned in his sleep and Kevin had the urge to lie down next to him and protect him to make the bad dreams go away. But something held him back. He stared out the window again.  
The shadow on the other café looked threatening. 

"Do you know, what is happening over there? ", he asked. 

"He's making coffee out of human bones," a voice behind him suddenly said. 

"Did you just talk to me?"

Rose suddenly stood next to them.  
"No," she said. 

"Ok."  
Kevin stayed calm. His whole life had started to feel unreal, the moment he had first sat foot in that café. In fear of even Daniel being nothing more than a dream, he had decided to never question anything. 

"This is just you going crazy," a voice came from Sir Fecker the Third. 

"I might be. I mean. I kissed Daniel. I never thought I'd be brave enough to do that. I should have asked him before. But I'm glad he didn't push me away. It was fecking nice. Nice isn't the right word. I don't know enough words for this. I'm tired."

"He wouldn't have said no," Burnt Marshmallow said, reassuringly. 

"You should go to bed, so you can wake up from your dream," George said. 

"How long do you think he liked me?", Kevin asked, ignoring George. 

"From the very start," Rose said softly. 

"This is all a dream."  
The voice came from George again.  
"Go back to sleep and when you wake up, you remember this as a dream." 

"Nah, I think I'll stay up and make breakfast again," Kevin said and walked towards the kitchen.  
Dan wasn't lieing on the floor anymore. He was probably in the bathroom. This meant Kevin could make breakfast for them. And maybe they could continue, where they had to stop last night. Even if it was just a dream. 

"Go the fuck to sleep," Detective Mittens screeched as she jumped in front of him. 

"But I'm not tired anymore," Kevin said.  
Then he just fell over flat on his face. 

Behind him stood Dan with the fire extinguisher. 

"Is he dead?", Burnt Marshmallow asked. 

Dan leaned over him and feeled for his pulse. 

"No." 

"What did you do!?", Rose yelled. 

"I panicked." 

The cats surrounded him and looked at Kevin. 

Detective Mittens bit carefully in one of his fingers. 

"I said he is not dead," Dan hissed, pulling the cat away. "Don't eat him." 

"He'll have one hell of a headache when he wakes up," Schrödinger said. 

"He didn't even freak out. It would have been fine," Becky said. 

"I know. But." Dan stared at Kevin. 

"You don't trust him. Why do you not trust him?", Sir Fecker the Third asked. 

"It's. I don't know. Fuck. I don't know." 

"Calm down. He won't say anything," Burnt Marshmallow said. 

_______

Kevin grunted in pain as he woke up, maybe an hour later. 

"Are you OK?", Dan asked worriedly and sat on his knees next to him. 

"My head is hurting like feck," Kevin said. 

"You hit it." 

"How?" 

"... You slipped and hit your head on a table, when you fell," Dan reluctantly said.

"Sounds like me. I had a weird dream." 

"What happened?", Dan asked carefully. 

"Burnt Marshmallow told me, that Jim Pickens makes coffee out of human bones. I think it's a prophecy." 

"Why." 

"Because it would explain why Martha says, that his coffee tastes like shit."  
He sat up, rubbing the sore spot on his head. 

"Martha was over there?" 

"Yes. But I think she just tried to hit on him." 

"Why would she hit on him?" 

"Did I say hit on him? She hit him with her umbrella. Feck. My head." 

"I'm so sorry." 

"It's not your fault. I was just clumsy." 

Dan looked at him like he wanted to confess something but then he just said: "I'll get some ice cream for you." 

"Thank you. You are the best." 

Dan hesitated. Then he turned and gave him a gentle kiss on the forehead.  
Then Kevin pulled him into a proper kiss.  
"Now I'm fine again," Kevin said with a smirk. 

"I'll also get some ice," Dan said and hurried away. 

_______

Over the course of the day a lot of the guests from the karaoke night came back to see the cats they liked and drink or eat something. 

This meant Dan was really busy and Kevin went back home for three hours to work on a new video, before he came back to help Daniel. 

_______

After the shop was closed and cleaned, they sat together in silence for a while. Dan acted like he was reading a book, while Kevin tried to give Burnt Marshmallow a new collar. This wasn't easy because Burnt Marshmallow really didn't want a new collar.  
But the new one was pink with little glitter stones, and Kevin really wanted her to wear it. 

Dan finally looked up from his book, he had been holding the wrong way, when Kevin cleared his throat. 

"Is something wrong?", he asked

"I've been subtle at hinting that I want your attention all day and you haven’t noticed once and now I’m pissed.”  
Kevin had his arms crossed. 

"Oh, I'm sorry." 

"I'm joking. But. Dan, you still seem sad. What is wrong?" 

"We collected enough money for the cats and the rent. But now the window is broken and the electricity bill is higher than usual. Maybe I should just. You know..."  
He shrugged. 

"You can't give up like this."

"I-"

"Look at the reviews. They are amazing. And look at how many people were here today." 

Dan took a deep breath, then he took his hand with a serious expression.  
"I really appreciate you," he said. 

Then he leaned over to kiss him. 

"I still have the money from the game shop, you know." 

"No, I have to do this myself." 

"But-" 

"No, I don't want to talk about this. This is my café after all." 

"Alright." 

Then they sat there quietly for a while. 

"We should probably go to bed. Is it OK for you, if we stay one more night here?", Dan said as they both stood up. 

"Sure. If you feel better this way." 

"... Is your head still hurting?" 

"No. The ice was good. But the forehead kiss was better."

"Okay," said Daniel said with a small smile. "Good." 

Then he gave him another kiss on the forehead, as Kevin leaned down to him. 

"Thank you. Past-Kevin was very stupid for hitting his head but present-Kevin is very lucky to have you." 

Daniel kissed him a second time. This time on the mouth, but very careful, like he was afraid to hurt him. 

"I'm very lucky to have you, too," he said. Then he hugged him. "It's so nice to finally be able to say it." 

"My heart can't take it. I think we are being too disgustingly romantic right now. ...I feel like I should make a joke," Kevin said. 

"Please don't." 

"OK. Challenge accepted. What is small, blue and has the form of a triangle?" 

"What?" 

"A small blue triangle." 

Daniel leaned his head against Kevin's chest, to hide the fact that he actually had to giggle at that. Maybe it was more the pride in Kevin's voice, that made him feel happy and warm. 

~~~

Days went by and the window got fixed. There was a good amount of people in the café most of the time.  
They didn't hear from Jim Pickens in a while. Dan didn't grow less anxious, but he enjoyed every minute he spend with Kevin and it also made him happy to help the people who now came to the edge of the Universe, listen to them and their problems and help where he could.  
In fact so many people came that he needed extra help. So he gave a job to Jill. They cleaned in the backroom and kitchen, while Dan had to talk to the guests. 

This meant Kevin had more time to make videos.  
In his videos he seemed a lot more happier. His jokes got funnier, because he was in a good mood. His videos got more likes than ever and he gained many subscribers. 

On a Wednesday Noemi and Lauren came over to the edge of the Universe with Emma.  
Kevin sat down at the table with them, because most of the other seats were taken.  
Emma told him what she had learned in school, while Lauren looked for something in her purse.  
When Dan was done with the other tables, he sat down with them for a while.  
Emma had learned in biology how animals live in groups. They listened to her until she got quiet to concentrate on her waffles, because Martha said down with them. And Martha always got really angry when people talked about schools. So after that, the adults talked for a bit about nothing in particular. 

"I brought a Laserpointer for the cats. It's a green one and stronger than your usual Laserpointer, which means you can used it in a larger distance. In this room you don't even have to stand up to play with the cats. They are going to have a lot of fun with it," Noemi said. 

"Thank you. The cats will hate it...," Dan said with a polite smile. 

"This reminds me, I got something for you, too," Kevin said with excitement in his voice.

"Aww. You didn't have to. Both of you. This is so sweet." 

"Remember when I ruined the apron? And then I ruined the other apron? Hey. Don't blame me. Your instructions have been very unclear."

"Yes, I do." 

"I bought two new ones."  
He gave him a package. 

"Thank you, this is very sweet of you."  
Dan opened the package and looked at the aprons. One was black with little white cats and one was white with little black cats. 

"You are welcome. I hope Burnt Marshmallow will like it, too. You won't even see her, when I put her in the Apron pocket. 

Dan hesitated to give him a kiss in front of the others. But then he did anyway. He ignored the others grinning. 

"I got something as well," Lauren said. 

"Thank you!" 

"It's a legal notice." 

"What has he done to you?", Kevin asked, taking Dan's hand protectively. 

"It's against Jim Pickens. He can't just go around, throwing in windows and leaving death threats. I'll go over there and give to him," Lauren said calmly. 

"You can't simply give a legal notice to Jim Pickens," Kevin said.

"Oh, Lauren, you shouldn't have," Dan said coldly, this time shaking his head.

"Why not?" 

"You might not come back. Lauren. It's not worth it," Dan said.

"What he has done is not legal," Lauren said, getting louder.

"He is dangerous. Think of your daughter." 

"I'll give it to him," Martha said. 

"Martha, no." 

"Martha, yes," she said standing up, bravely. 

"I say it again. You can't simply go there and just talk to him," Daniel emphasised. 

"You are all ridiculous. I'll go there, put that letter on a table and leave. It's as easy as that." 

She took the letter from Lauren and left without another word. 

The moment Martha left, Emma continued talking about why cows were superior to horses, and why she didn't understand why all the other girls in class liked horses. 

Kevin threw in the argument that no animal was superior to a seacow and Lauren agreed on that, while Dan stood up, walked over to the other guests. He made three hot chocolates and, five lemonades and brought four glasses of juice to the other tables.  
When Martha came back, she was out of breath and had a panicked expression. 

"What happened?" 

"I hit him with my umbrella." 

Dan and Kevin shared a look. 

"You did what?" 

"He had a lighter and came closer and then I hit him with my umbrella and ran away," Martha said. "It was self defense," she said side glancing Lauren. 

"I have to think," Lauren said more to herself. 

Noemi squeezed her hand for a moment.  
"We should go home, now." And facing Daniel she added: "She needs quiet and something to write, when she thinks." 

"OK. See you soon. And thank you for your presents," Dan said reluctantly.  
He tried very hard to act like he wasn't scared. 

Kevin laid an arm around him, protectively. 

~~~

After that and hours later, the guests left one after the other.  
In the evening Dan did some paperwork, while Kevin played some games on his phone. Every now and then he glanced over at him. He liked the glasses. For other evening activities later maybe he could make him wear just the glasses. Just the glasses.  
Kevin smiled quietly. Then he petted Burnt Marshmallow a bit. She was sleeping on the table in front of him.  
Suddenly Dan put down his glasses and burried his face in his hands before he looked up again and asked with a cold voice: "Kevin?! How could you do that to me?" 

"What did I do?", Kevin asked with half a smile.  
*was this a joke?*

"You actually lied to me." 

Kevin looked at him in confusion.  
"I lie all the time. I'm a bit of a pathological liar." Then he stood up to walk over to him, but Dan flinched back. 

"No nono. Don't do this! This was not your usual 'I' m the record holder of being able to hold my breath the longest time, because have you seen my living room'." 

"What do you think did?" 

"You promised not to interfere," he said very quietly. 

Then it made *klick* in Kevins head. Oh, no. This was not how he had thought this would go.  
"I had to. This Café is your life."

"Yes! It is *my* life."

"I just wanted to help. Feck!"

"And I had specifically told you not to."

"Dan-"

"What did I tell you not to do?" 

"Pay for the window and the electricity bills with the game shop money." 

"And what did you do?" 

"Dan-" 

"Say it" 

"I paid for the window and the electricity bill with the game shop money." 

"I wanted one thing from you." 

"I did it because I-" 

"Just stop, OK?" 

"I never meant to hurt you."  
Kevin looked very lost, shoulders hanging, and fighting against tears. 

"I want you to leave, Kevin."  
Dan was exhausted as he sat back down and stared at the table in front of him.  
He looked so disappointed with him.  
It would probably have hurt less if Dan had just taken one of the butter knives and stabbed him then and there. 

Instead Kevin had to turn around.  
And he had to leave. 

Don't look back.  
Don't look back.  
Don't look back. 

*Don't look back! *

He looked back. 

Seeing Daniel wiping tears off his face broke his heart.  
Worse than if a knife had just cut through him. 

At least he thought so in that moment.  
He went home, completely alone. 

~~~

"I thought I could trust him," Dan said while walking up and down in the café. 

"He just wanted to help," Rose said softly. 

"You don't understand," Dan answered. 

"It's not a bad thing to need some help from time to time," Sir Fecker the Third said. 

"But I told him I didn't want his money. I don't want to be dependent. And I don't want to be a burden to him. And I don't want him to be in danger - maybe it's better if he doesn't come here anymore. I don't want anything to happen to him. But I didn't want to hurt him. I - feel like shit. This is too much. All of this. I can't take it anymore. Oh fuck. I also hit him. This is worse. He wanted to help but I-  
Shit."

He sat and really wished to just disappear.  
Then he had to think of how Kevin had made the offer to run away together.  
But he couldn't just leave everything behind. Could he?  
For a moment he imagined renting a bus, taking all the cats and then picking up Kevin and just start driving. Driving somewhere nice. Maybe close to the sea.  
Kevin sitting next to him. Smiling. Holding his hand, while behind them the world disappeared. 

"What *do* you want?", Burnt Marshmallow asked quietly, interrupting Daniel in his thoughts. 

*Him. I want him.*

"I want... I want my happy ever after," he said and stood still. 

"If happy ever after did exist...," George said gravely. 

The cats got silent. 

Dan sat at a table and suddenly he cried while the cats surrounded him. 

"Things can exist and not exist with the same probability at the same time and Happy ever afters is one of those things," Schrödinger said. 

"If happy ever after did exist, it would be here," Sir Fecker the third said. 

"There is no happy ever after, if you won't accept a little bit of help from time to time," Rose said. 

Burnt Marshmallow stepped forward at last.  
"If happy ever after did exist we would live happily ever after together here. As a family. Martha, and Lauren and Noemi and Emma and Jill. -And You and Kevin."

"If happy ever after did exist I wouldn't let him go," Daniel said. 

~~~

Kevin sat at the edge of his bed. He had been staring at the wall for a long while.  
Of course past-Kevin had to feck everything up again.  
*Stupid past-Kevin.*  
He opened the contacts in his phone. Then he sat it aside. He didn't want to call him. He wanted to hug and kiss him and make everything alright again. He wanted to be there. He wanted to tell him personally that he was sorry. He stayed sitting on his bed.  
Why was his face wet?  
*The eyes are sweaty again. That only happens when the heart is making the big ouch. *, the voice in his head said.  
He dried his face with a sleeve of the green pullover. The pullover only helped a bit. Only the real Dan could make the big ouch go away.  
But real Dan was mad at him, right now.  
Feck. 

Then the door opened and he thought for a moment that he was only imagining Dan. Then he hid the pullover under the bed. 

"Sorry. But it wasn't locked," Daniel said quietly. His eyes were very dark and very red. When Kevin didn't answer, he continued: "My auntie always said never go to bed angry at someone you lo- like."

"I'm sorry," Kevin said and stood up, before Daniel could say anything else. 

"I'm sorry, too."

"No. I have to be sorry. I should have respected your wish." He took both his hands. 

"I shouldn't have had that wish in the first place. It was childish and I overreacted. And I wouldn't have made it on my own. And-" 

Kevin kissed him. 

After the moment of shock had passed, Daniel melted into his arms. 

And after Kevin broke the kiss, Daniel leaned against him, like he had no strength anymore to stand on his own. And he didn't have to.  
The taller one had his arms firmly wrapped around him. 

"I'm sorry and I won't do it again. I just thought--I guess I wasn't thinking at all," Kevin said. 

"I'm not even sure what to think anymore. You really helped me out. But I also really want to be angry at you. On the other hand it was really huge what you did there for me. But then again we could have just talked about it and then again I didn't want to talk about it. Why can't stuff ever be easy?"  
Finally, when he had to stop to take a breath, he looked up into Kevin's eyes. 

Kevin waited for him patiently. Both of his hands were resting on his waist and they felt very warm. 

"Next time we'll try that conversation thingie, everyone keeps talking about." 

"Thank you." 

"What your auntie said also implies, that we should go to bed happy, though," Kevin whispered and his warm breath tingled his cheek, before he kissed him. 

Suddenly Kevin pulled him with him and Daniel ended up on top of him on the bed. 

"On the other hand my auntie also left Martha at the altar and ran away," Daniel said as he rolled down from him, but Kevin held his wrist and they ended up lying next to each other. 

"Wait! Our Martha?!", Kevin asked. 

"Yes. Our Martha.  
When my auntie left, we all took her side. Martha is now part of the family," Daniel said quietly. "I haven't seen her since."

There was a pause.  
They stared at the ceiling just breathing in and out for a while.  
They were still holding hands. 

"I want you to look me straight in the eyes," Daniel finally said. 

"You can't expect me to be straight while looking into those eyes," Kevin said while turning his head and sitting up a bit. 

A smile flickered across Daniels face, but then he looked worried again.  
"Promise, we'll never go to bed angry at each other." 

"I promise," Kevin said and carefully ran a hand through his fluffy hair. 

"Thank you." 

They kissed. 

"Would you like to... you know... I could show you what else I learned from dating simulator," Kevin said reluctantly. 

"Not today." 

"Alright.... But you are not going to go, now. Are you?" 

"No," Daniel relaxed again, in his arms. He pulled him closer and rested his head on his chest. 

"Good night," Kevin said quietly and gave him another small kiss. 

"Sleep tight," Daniel said with his eyes closed, already drifting off.  
The bed felt much warmer and safer with Kevin wrapped around him. The sound of him breathing next to him calmed him down and he started snoring softly almost immediately. 

"I love you so fecking much," Kevin whispered.


	14. run, fecker, run

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A BIG THANK YOU again for all the support I'm getting. You guys are amazing.
> 
> This chapter starts off a bit smutty, but not too graphic.  
> I'm well aware that there also is a younger audience reading this. So there will be no in depth descriptions of what things look like underneath the underwear. 
> 
> But be warned anyway: Our favourite YouTubers try to take things a bit further in the beginning of this chapter.  
> Let's do it like this: When you start to get uncomfortable (regardless of age), skip until you see this line:
> 
> ===================D
> 
> After that you are safe to keep reading.

It was nice waking up next to Dan.  
Feeling how the bed was warm next to him. He had not slept for long, now that he thought about it.  
Most of the time Kevin told himself that he wasn't worried, although he knew that it was a lie.  
Dan hadn't been himself the last days. Very nervous, very on edge. Got angry fast. Maybe not angry. More sad. Helpless. Kevin wanted nothing more than to make him happy again. There were these sweet moments when he managed to make him laugh or smile at him, when he felt like everything could be fine again.  
Now he glanced over at the clock. It would soon be time to open the café and feed the cats. Clean. Wait for the first guests to arrive. Eat. Work. Wait.  
Then he turned off the alarm before it could ring. 

He sighed. Carefully he kissed Dan's bare shoulder.  
"Wake up," he whispered.  
Then he put another and another small kiss there until Dan finally moved. 

"Good morning," Dan said, turning around to give him a proper kiss, with his eyes still half closed. 

"More like great and best morning ever. Have I already told you, you are the second most beautiful person in this room?", Kevin asked with the most serious expression. 

"I still can't believe you have a life sized PS1 Hagrid statue in your bedroom," Dan said, giggling against his chest. 

"It's not a statue. It's just cardboard cutout. But let me tell you, as soon as I hit 20 Million, I will buy a golden statue." 

"It'll look great next to that Irish flag. I didn't know you can buy them that big." 

"Technically you can't."

Thoughtfully he played with his hair.  
Then Kevin sighed deeply. 

"Are you okay?", Dan asked. 

"I really need to use the bathroom, but I don't want to get up," Kevin said, and pulled Dan closer again. He could feel how excited they both actually were to be with each other this morning. 

"Go, use the bathroom," Dan said slowly. 

"Okay. Fine. But you stay there. Don't move until I'm back." , Kevin said, standing up, and throwing his part of the blanket over Dan. 

"We need to get going in like fifteen minutes," Dan reminded him. 

"That's Okay. I don't need more than fifteen minutes with you. Wait, that sounded - you know what? That's exactly what I wanted to say. I'm going to make you call me Kevin very loudly in less than ten minutes," he said, leaning against the door frame. The last part he had said in a deep voice, that made Dan shiver. He bit his lips, pushing the blanket aside.

"I'll make you scream so loud, all the neighbours will know my name." 

A big smile started to spread on Dan's face. "Clock is ticking. Now it's fourteen minutes." 

"Okay, I'll be right back." 

When he returned, already in his underwear to save time, he also had half dead flowers and a box of pralines with him. In the living room music started playing. He recognised his favourite remix of 'Dancing in the moon light'. 

"Sorry about the flowers. I wanted to do this much earlier. And I wanted to do this right. I know you like it romantic. So here are some pretty flowers, here is your chocolate - and here is your Kevin," he said, sitting down next to him. 

"You are so..."  
Dan shook his head with a smile. Then he pulled him close to kiss him, after putting flowers and chocolates on the table next to the bed. 

Suddenly there was a loud knock at the front door. 

"Who could - that - be?", Dan asked, between kisses, when the knocking didn't stop. 

"Probably Jehovas Witnesses. They'll go away. Could you put on your glasses for me? Please?" 

Dan laughed shortly, grabbed them from the night stand and put them on. 

"Perfect," Kevin said and took both of his wrists, pinning him against the bed as he climbed on top of him. 

He kissed his neck, then his mouth, but suddenly Dan stopped responding. As soon as he realised that, he pulled back to look him in the eyes. 

The knocking intensified. 

"Maybe if I make you call me Kevin really loud, they'll go away." 

"Kevin, no. Stop," Dan whispered, starting to have a really bad feeling about this. 

He stopped, let go of him and sat back. 

"What do I get, if I open the door naked?", Kevin asked, slowly getting annoyed. 

"They'd call the police most likely."

The knocking got louder. 

"Bet, they won't." 

"No, stay here! They sometimes bring children. Stay where you are. I'll get the door."

"Alright I wait here for you."

"I'm coming," Dan yelled at the door as he walked past Kevin. 

"See? And that in under ten minutes," Kevin was yelling from the bedroom, when Dan opened the door and there was no one standing there. 

-

==================D

-

There was no one standing in front of the front door. Who had knocked?  
Then he looked at his feet.  
A box.  
He took it and closed the door behind him. Inside, he put the box on the kitchen table. When he looked over his shoulder, Kevin stood next to him again. The plan had been to pick him up and bring him back to bed, but one look at his face and he knew that now was not the time to follow through with this plan.  
Dan slowly took a knife to open the package, fingers shaking a bit.  
Then it was open.  
In the box was a collar.  
A pink collar with glitter stones. 

"I really should do something about the Address on Facebook situation," Kevin said under his breath, trying to hide the fact that he was about to really lose his marbles. 

"Shit. No.  
Oh fuck.  
Burnt Marshmallow." 

Under the collar was a note. 

"If you want the cat to live, leave the City. You have two days.  
This has been a catnapping.  
\- Jimothy Pickens." 

They shared a look, then they got dressed as fast as they could and went back to The edge of the Universe, where Dan counted the cats again and again, until the numbers stopped to make sense. The only black tiny kitten was missing. And she stayed missing. 

It was clear that there had been a fight.  
There was cat hair and blood on the floor. The door must have been forcefully opened, since the lock was broken. 

"Is this the blood of Burnt Marshmallow or of Jim Pickens?", Dan asked Rose. 

Rose first looked at Kevin, who was standing near by, then she blinked twice. 

"Thank god. You guys tried to fight back?"

Rose blinked once. 

"Okay. Good," he said and took a deep breath. 

Then Dan finally called the police, while Kevin stood next to him, shoulders hanging and feeling completely useless.  
"He abducted Burnt Marshmallow....  
Jim Pickens stole my cat.... No, there's been nothing else stolen....Money is still there....Just the cat," Dan said, the last part almost voiceless. Like the words were just now sinking in. 

The person from the police hung just up. 

"Hello? Fuck."  
Daniel took all his self restraint to not break the phone on the floor. Instead he stayed where he was, phone in his hand, knuckles getting white.  
Kevin fought back tears of pure anger, when he wrapped his arms around Daniel protectively. Who did the old man think he was? How did he dare to hurt them like that?  
Daniel cried without making a sound against his shoulder and Kevin was left with no other choice but to softly rub his back. 

"Maybe she is just hiding or hanging around outside," Kevin said after a while. He carefully wiped the tears away from Dans face with his thumbs.  
He kissed his cheek, softly. It tasted salty. 

"There is her collar in this box. After all of this we are going to have to leave. I can't believe it. After all we've been through."

"Okay. That's it. I'm going over there," Kevin suddenly said, grabbing the fire extinguisher. 

"You're not going over there," Daniel raised his voice. 

"Why?" 

"Because I said so."

"Okay. That's your opinion. Let's do the conversation thingie." 

"Not now" 

"Yes, now. Dan, you are important to me and I hate to see you sad. Also Burnt Marshmallow is the best cat ever and I'm going over there."

"Jim Pickens is dangerous. That people disappeared over there is a known fact. They say, he killed them and I believe it."

"I'm not affraid." 

"Do you think, I could just keep going, if anything happened to you, because you went over there because of me?" 

Dan took a deep breath, then he added: "Not to be clingy but I don't want to live without you."  
He had started somewhat sarcastic, but the last word was yelled. 

He hadn't yelled before. 

Immediately he felt ashamed for getting hysterical.  
Kevin stared at him and it hurt both of them. 

"I respect your opinion, but you are wrong. This is not a good way to handle this situation," Kevin said more softly. 

Dan wanted to scream at him.  
But he didn't. 

_____

They were still arguing, when Martha, Noemi, Lauren and Emma arrived at the café. 

Dan explained what happened and they continued arguing, while the women watched unexpectedly quiet. 

"I'll go over there. You can pretend it is just for Burnt Marshmallow."

"No! Kevin.... Sometimes. Sometimes you can't fix things." 

"But we can't just give up like this." 

"You can't save her. And you can't save.... me."

"You don't tell me what to do." 

"Are you going to break up?", Emma suddenly asked. 

They both froze. 

"I like to burn stuff and he has trust issues. No one is perfect," Kevin said and then he was out the door. 

Dan watched him go. He didn't cross the street, but left in a different direction, without looking back. 

Of course Dan wanted to go after him, but then he decided otherwise. He exchanged a look with the adults, before he sat down with Emma. 

"Listen, honey. We are not going to break up. I love him -"  
He stopped and bit his lips.  
"I love him very much."  
He waited, for the girl to say something. But she didn't. So he continued:  
"Sometimes you don't share the same opinion with another person. Even if you love them. And that is completely normal."  
He cleared his throat and fought back a tear. Daniel wasn't going to cry in front of Emma.  
"Maybe he is right. Maybe some things are worth saving. You know. Everyone has their own trauma and I don't think it is ever easy to be in a healthy relationship.  
But the most important things in my opinion are that you have to be there for each other and you have to love each other.  
We all make mistakes. That's what makes us human. He would never hurt me. I hurt him once, but it was an accident and I still think about it. I have to tell him what I did, but at the same time I'm to ashamed.  
And he is wrong. I do trust him.  
I love him. And I'll do anything to make it work. Because I know it will be worth the effort.  
But what he wants to do is actually dangerous. And I feel so... Lost. "

"Martha, are you crying?", Lauren asked. 

"Just the cat allergies."  
She cleaned her nose loudly. 

"Would you guys watch the café for a bit, please? Until Jill arrives? I need to go after him. I have to make this right again." 

"Sure," Lauren said. 

But he was already out the door, almost running into a new costumer, that watched him leave in confusion. 

______

He found Kevin on the bench, they had sat on together and watched the Great Fecker, a long time ago. 

A damn long time ago. 

It had been quite romantic.  
Now it was different, somehow.  
The sun was shining. For once there weren't many clouds.  
Sunbeams warm on pale skin. 

Dan sat down with him without a word.  
And without a word, Kevin took his hand. It felt right. Holding hands. Dan leaned his head against his shoulder.  
And they sat next to each other for a long time.  
In silence, lost in their own thoughts. 

~~~

They didn't exchange another word about this days' occurrences. 

When they got home in the evening, after a long day of serving hot cocoa and cupcakes, listening to other people's problems and giving life changing advice, Dan started to pack stuff, still staying quiet. Kevin watched him for a while going through his stuff from the couch, expression unreadable. 

Dan found two suitcases and packed for both of them.  
There wasn't much for him, the most important thing was that Kevin had to come with him. Sooner or later he would understand, that it was the best decision.  
That there was no other decision to be made.  
They could have a new start somewhere else. It didn't matter where. 

"What are you doing?", Kevin asked quietly, as if it wasn't obvious. He had followed him into the bedroom, where only hours ago the world had looked a lot brighter. Now there was a suitcase on the floor and the men of his dreams was packing both their things, distressed and eyes still red from crying. 

Dan stopped and looked up, before he took his hands and then he sat down with him at the edge of the bed.  
He searched for words carefully but then they just came and there was nothing he could do about it.  
"Remember when you asked me to run away with you? It was when- It feels like ages ago. I changed my mind. My answer is yes. I'll close the edge of the Universe. We can go somewhere else.  
Somewhere nice. We can drive for a while. See a bit of Ireland. Then settle down somewhere quiet. Where we can see cows. And meadows. And sheep. Have a huge house with a garden for the cats.  
Then we marry and maybe adopt some children. I know you want children. In our big house we can have several of them.  
You continue with your channel and I can work in a restaurant or something.  
We can grow old together.  
We can have a little bench in the front of the house and we can sit there in the evenings and watch the sunset, together while holding hands.  
One day you'll die because you drink like an Irish person. But I wouldn't want to live without you. We would be buried next to each other under the big willow tree in our garden. "

" - This is not going to happen. ", Kevin said softly. Then he leaned in like he wanted to kiss him, but then seemed to change his mind and walked into the other room. 

Dan left it at that. He thought Kevin was talking about the last part which he now realised must have sounded a bit dramatic and creepy. Whatever. It was more likely anyway to get eaten by the cats. He had had numerous nightmares in which he had died and the cats had eaten him. 

While Kevin worked on a video or something, Dan finished packing as good as he could. 

Then he started to look for busses to rent, because he would have to transport the cats somehow.  
Bus or huge truck? What would be cheaper? A truck would be easier to drive. But since the incident, Kevin preferred busses over cars for some reason.  
They could also discuss this tomorrow, after Kevin calmed down.  
Everything would be fine, he told himself. 

Kevin was still working on his videos, when Dan went to bed.  
The bed felt empty without him. Too big. Too cold.  
Kevin would calm down, wouldn't he?  
He would see, that he was right.  
Was he right?  
There wasn't anything he could do, right? 

The day had started so nicely. How could have everything gone so wrong in the matter of only a day? 

He missed Kevin, although he was just a room away. Stupid heart. Dramatic and stupid. 

Soon he fell asleep anyway. 

_________

Hours later, Kevin watched him sleep for a moment to make sure, he wouldn't wake up. Dan breathed steadily, hugging his pillow like he would hug Kevin, if he were with him. But now was not the time for that. Kevin kissed his hair gently to not wake him and a smile flickered across Dans face, before he looked worried again.  
Then Kevin put on the Green pullover and tiptoed out of the room. 

He closed the front door behind him, certain he was doing the right thing. 

The walk felt like it was long. So very long. His surroundings had grown quiet and the streets were quiet, since it was the middle of the night. And the moon was quiet, too. The Great Fecker watched him in silence and maybe he judged him or maybe he didn't care at all, like he had never cared for millions of years.  
They couldn't just leave everything behind. Everything Dan had fought for all those years. Everything he had build.  
Not only that.  
The people of Dublin needed the cat café.  
They needed light to balance out the darkness. This might sound dramatic, but with the cat café gone, and the Moonbucks café staying, the consequences would be unforeseeable. But terrible.  
Then his thoughts went back to Dan. It wasn't like he hadn't considered, leaving with Dan. But he knew Dan would regret giving up like that sooner or later.  
At the same time he felt bad for having the audacity to go against Dans wish. But no handbook could prepare one for a situation like this. He tried to justify his actions to his own version of him in his head. Of course even this version of Dan stayed disappointed. This wasn't working. 

Maybe the reason for him doing what he thought was right was of entirely different nature.  
He realised that he had stopped walking, when it hit him metaphorically.  
His actions were fueled by rage.  
Something inside of him couldn't accept the idea of losing. Losing against an old man that stole tiny kittens and broke windows. An old man that thought he could decide who was allowed to live and who should die.  
He knew the stories that were whispered in the streets of Dublin. About the man that could do whatever he wanted and no one had the guts to stop him.  
Kevin o'Reilly wasn't a fecking coward.  
He would fight. Fight for Dan. Fight for both of them. For their future together.  
Their happiness.  
Because he couldn't justify to himself doing anything else. Dan had to understand that.  
In any other circumstances he would do what Dan told him to do. But this was different.  
He started running. 

When he arrived in front of the Moonbucks coffee shop, there was a hooded figure already fumbling with the lock. 

When he reached the figure, she turned around and held a screwdriver in his face, threateningly before apologising repeatedly. 

"Noemi, what the feck?"

"I - I 'm sorry." 

"Are you..."  
He looked at her, then at the screwdriver, then at her again. She wore all black and other than him she had thought of bringing gloves. They were blue and he guessed she had brought them from the laboratory. 

"I wanted to help. Please, Lauren would be so mad if she knew. She can get in so much trouble if I get caught breaking in somewhere.  
Please, don' t tell Lauren." 

"Tell me what?"

They both jumped when another black hooded figure appeared right behind them. She stepped out of the shadows and the face of a middle aged friendly looking woman, with the golden curls of an angel framing her face was revealed. 

"I'm having an affair with Kevin," Noemi lied. 

"Sure," Lauren said. Then she walked past both of them and opened the door with her credit card, first try. 

"Is Daniel coming, too?", a voice behind them suddenly asked. 

Martha stood there, yellow hat, jacket and skirt, yellow and white striped umbrella and a glistening in her eyes, that told them she was ready to fight. 

"He is not coming," Kevin said. 

For a moment there was quiet. 

Then Martha swung her umbrella like a sword. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go, gang."


	15. and it burns burns burns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> firstly, I've been informed that you need a special license to drive a bus. And obviously Dan doesn't have this license. I apologise, but let's guess, that since Dan doesn't have a license at all, he didn't know, that he would need a special one for a bus, and he only looked at pictures of busses on google pictures anyway. I made my drivers license four years ago and I really didn't think about that.
> 
> secondly:  
> Hey, to those of you, who are under 16, also to those of you, who are good Christians, and to those of you who don't like it when things go above the level of kisses and hand holding:
> 
> Read until this line appears again:
> 
> ============D
> 
> Plotwise you only need to know, that clothes get put in the washing machine.  
> And they are not mad at each other anymore.  
> Also Kevin tells Dan about the Green Pullover and Dan reacts accordingly. 
> 
> The scene is not that explicit, but I know there is some younger folks reading this story and I don't want to harm them in any way.  
> Also God forbid, real D. and K. find this.  
> So gentle reminder to not show this stuff around to anyone. 
> 
> So skip this scene until the line appears again.  
> The very last scene of this chapter is important for the next chapter.

"He is not coming," Kevin said. 

For a moment there was quiet as they stood undecisesively.

Then Martha swung her umbrella like a sword. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go, gang." 

"We do agree, that we are not going to tell Dan, right?", Kevin asked after he stepped inside last, because he was holding the door open for the others.

"You shouldn't have that kind of secrets," Lauren answered. She turned on the lights. "Eww, why is the switch so sticky?" She cleaned her hand on her black pullover.

"What kind of secrets should you have?", Noemi asked curiously. 

"One secret that I find interesting is who ate my yogurt this morning. It's fine, though. I know it was you," Lauren said, nudging her side. 

They stood between tables and chairs, not sure what to do anymore.  
Something smelled strange. 

"Why does it smell like blood?", Noemi asked.

The floor was sticky and every step made an ugly sound.  
There were creepy pictures on the walls.  
Some abstract paintings. With a lot of red and black.  
They reminded Kevin of those Rorschach-thingies. One was formed like a burning heart and it made him think of Dan.

"Why would anyone come here out of free will?", Lauren asked.

"I don't think, I've ever seen people coming in here," Martha said, thoughtfully.

There were stairs leading to a higher floor, but instinctively they knew, no one would hide his bodies upstairs. They needed to find a basement. 

Noemi looked over her shoulder. Then she ran back to the windows. 

"Fuck, there are people coming." 

She walked outside raising her hands defensively, while the others hid. "Oh shit."

The crowd came to a hold in front of her.  
"I think my husband is down there," a woman with a pitchfork told her. 

The rest of the people had knives, torchlights, and more pitchforks.

Some were wearing uniforms.  
Some looked seriously scared. 

Kevin recognised a few familiar faces. Some shop owners from down the street, when he peaked outside.  
Some he knew from the karaoke night.  
Facebook seemed to be good for something after all. 

Jill fought themself to the front.  
"We are ready to fight," they said. 

The crowd made a noise that sounded like agreement.

Noemi held the door open and gestured for them to come inside. They entered much less confidently and there was actual fear in their eyes. But most surprisingly of all, they were extremely quiet.

They went into different directions to find a secret entrance for the basement.

When Jill opened the fridge, a skeleton fell against them. They screamed.  
Other people found more bones in different hiding places. And from time to time someone could be heard making scared noises.  
You could almost cut through the fear, that was hanging in the air.

When he entered the kitchen, Kevin found Burnt Marshmallow in a box in the middle of the stove. Luckily it wasn't turned on. 

"Are you ok, littledemon?"

"Mreeooow."

"That's what I thought."  
She seemed unharmed. Probably hungry, but unharmed.

Very carefully, he put her in the pullovers pocket. The warmth pressed against his stomach calmed him down.  
In the kitchen, the floor was even more sticky, he noticed. The smell of blood intensified. There were various shades of red spots on the walls.

He jumped, when Lauren yelled for them. 

Behind a cupboard she had moved together with a hairdresser, a butcher and a supermarket clerk, they found a door. 

A huge woman who worked at the grocery store broke the door and behind it there was darkness.  
And the darkness lead downstairs. 

"I'll go down first," Kevin said. 

The others were quiet for a moment, until one very hairy man asked: "Why you?" His voice sounded very rude.

"Because I'm... Going in first," Kevin said, his voice somehow threatening.  
He stood directly in front of the man and it became clear that Kevin was almost two heads taller.  
The other people stepped back.  
One gave him his pitchfork.

He went down, followed by Martha, whos weapon of choice still was the umbrella. Then the people with the other pitchforks followed. Then the rest.

There was darkness and there was a light at the end of the stairs. Muffled voices. And Movement.  
There were people walking around down there aimlessly. They all wore the same clothes and seemed confused.  
Someone yelled something.  
The people in the weird clothing first wanted to flee in fear. But then some saw the people coming down the stairs behind Kevin.  
They were scared by the pitchforks.  
There was crying, when people recognised each other.

One after another could be saved and brought outside.

Kevin wandered through the rooms one last time, when everyone else was gone.

The basement was a masterpiece in all its horror and cruelty.

There was a room made of lights.  
A room made of portraits.

There was also a kitchen and a common room.

And books. Books everywhere.

And dirty dishes on the floor and on the shelves.

A small voice told him, it was time to leave. He had heard this voice before.

_________

Kevin left the basement last, after he made sure, everyone was saved.  
Only Martha and Noemi still waited for him.  
Lauren had been one of the first ones to leave together with Jill, to get the prisoners something to eat and to drink from the cat café. And to calm everyone down.

"I think we should destroy this place," Kevin said.

"I agree," Martha said and pushed a chair over with her umbrella.

"Let's just leave," Noemi said, looking around, like she just had heard something.

Suddenly there was another voice came from somewhere above.  
"Alexa, close the door."

And with a bang, the door shut.  
Noemi tried to open it, but it didn't move.

Then there were loud steps coming down the stairs. A huge shadow appeared on the opposite wall.

"Alexa, turn the red lights on."

The lights turned red.  
The shadow got more threatening.

"Alexa, play Take a chance on me by ABBA," Jim Pickens said, taking out his lighter.

He smiled at the three of them. In this light he looked like nothing more and nothing less than a cult leader.

"Don't get close to him," Noemi whispered loudly.

Kevin glanced at her and then threw the chair closest to him in his general direction. He missed and the chair hit the floor and slid in front of Jims feet.  
Jim Pickens lit the lighter.  
He sat fire to the chair and pushed it back in Kevins direction.

Noemi yelled something as Kevin stumbled backwards until his back hit the wall. The chairs next to him caught fire as well.

Then Jim moved in her direction. She pushed tables over, and chairs in his direction, while he slowly came closer. Lighter in his hand and the same fire burning in his eyes.

Then Noemi remembered, that she still had the screwdriver and just when he wanted to reach for her, she stabbed him with it. Jim Pickens stared at the screwdriver that was now stuck in his hand in surprise.

"I won't hesitate, bitch," Martha yelled as she hit him with her umbrella from behind.

Jim Pickens fell to the floor with a loud thud. 

"Well, that was anticlimactic," Noemi said, before she started laughing hysterically. "Fuck."

Kevin carefully walked between the burning chairs, protectively covering the cat in his pullover with his hands, until he reached the two women.

"Should we put the fire out and lock him in the portrait room?", Noemi asked.

"No. It's OK. Go with the others I'll take care of him," Kevin said. 

The women shared a look, then they nodded.  
"See you on the other side," Noemi said.  
They managed to break open the glass door with a chair.

He watched them leave. His friends gave him one last look before they went outside, broken glass crunching underneath their shoes.  
Martha nodded at him with a weird smile, while Noemi looked worried.

"Has everyone gotten out?" Kevin yelled once more down to the basement to be sure.

"Yes," a small voice said. 

Kevin didn't know, where it came from.  
But he nodded. That settled it.  
Actually, the voice came from his pullovers pocket. Or maybe it had been in his head all along.

With a sigh he picked the lighter next to Jim Pickens up from the floor.  
He lit some more chairs on fire, surrounding the both of them. Jim hadn't moved since and Kevin wasn't going to move him. He lit enough things on fire to make sure, the whole building would burn down, before the firefighters would arrive. Already it started to smell heavily of burning plastic.  
Chemical and surely poisonous.

The fire reflected in his eyes. He watched the flames grow and hiss and eat. Smoke filled his lungs and he coughed. 

For a moment he was desperate to become one with the flames. To burn and burn and burn.

But then he remembered the small innocent creature in his pocket. He broke through the ring of fire.

"Run," a small voice said.

He ran. 

_________

When Dan woke up, Kevin was not next to him.  
He reached over, but the space next to him was cold. Had Kevin ever gotten to bed last night? He didn't know.  
Dan got up and walked through the flat. The thought of finding a goodbye note scared him.  
It was still weird, being in Kevins flat without Kevin being there. Why was he not there?  
For a moment Dan thought Kevin went to be with someone else and there was an ugly feeling in his stomach.  
He took a deep breath.

*No, Dan, it's your anxiety lieing to you.*

He took another deep breath.

*I bet he is a lot more handsome than you.*, another voice in his head mocked him. It had the voice of Detective Mittens.

His mood getting worse, he walked through the flat arguing with himself.  
He knew Kevin had done something stupid. He just knew.

*Kevin left you because you are creepy and clingy*

*SHUT UP*

Then he found himself in front of Kevins Computer. Still with a bad feeling in his stomach, he sat down and did nothing for a while.  
But then he turned on the computer, being angry at himself at the same time.

*this is not right*

So angry, he wanted to hit his head on the table, but he didn't.

*Are you really the kind of person to check your partners' E-Mails?*

Partner?

Boyfriend?

What would he prefer?

*Probably ex, if he catches you going through his e-mails, idiot.*

He wanted to turn the computer off again, when his eyes fell on the wallpaper and he froze.  
For the past months it had been a picture of Grognac the destroyer attorney at law.  
Now it was a picture of Dan sitting on the floor between the cats.  
The Dan in the picture had a small smile on his face, not noticing, that the photo was being taken. It was so cute, it made his heart ache.  
The real Dan felt terribly ashamed of himself as he turned off the computer again and buried his face in his hands.

Then he heard something outside.

__________

"Hey I brought breakfast. Have you slept better, this night?", Kevin asked as he came through the front door with a big smile on his face.

"Not really. But it's fine," Daniel said. He had walked to the door, when he had heard the keys. 

"I have a surprise for you. Look, I found Burnt Marshmallow in front of the flat. She must have found her way here all by herself. Fecking brave cat. My little demon. Fought her way out of there." 

Dan stared at the cat in disbelief as Kevin took her out of his pullover pocket and sat her on the floor.  
Then he handed him the bag of still warm croissants and gave him a quick kiss and a hug before walking past him in the direction of the bathroom. 

Dan saw a dark stain on Kevin's green pullover in the corner of his eyes when they hugged. The pullover smelled like smoke.  
Did Kevin-  
No. Not cigarettes.  
The other kind of smoke, and Daniel suddenly started to feel very cold. Of course he could just ask Burnt Marshmallow, but something told him, she'd be on Kevins side. 

"Kevin, could you come here again, please?" 

"Of course." 

Daniel pulled him close again and smelled his pullover.  
"Kevin! What did you do? Don't you dare fucking lie to me, again. Burnt Marshmallow didn't come here by herself. And you-"  
He didn't know how to continue. He shook his head.

First Kevin looked like he was going to make a joke, but then his expression changed entirely and he said: "I did what I had to." 

"What did you do? Kevin!" 

"I. - I burned it." 

"What did you burn."

"The Moonbucks."

"The Moonbucks?" 

"Yes." 

They stood still and looked at each other.  
Kevin stepped forward and Dan stepped back, eyes huge.  
Was Dan afraid of him? 

"That was very bad, Kevin. You'll get in so much trouble if they find out. I don't want to imagine, what Jim Pickens will do to you." 

"They won't. And just you wait finding out, what I will do to him, when I see him," Kevin stuttered, focusing on the floor in front of him.

"How do you think I would go on without you? When you rot away in prison? Or when he finds you and kills you?", when Dan finally looked up, he could see fire burning in his eyes. 

"They won't catch me." 

"If I could just go on living without you, I'd be miserable at best." 

"There's nothing to worry about."

"You- you-"

He took a deep breath.  
"You need to tell me what exactly happened."

" I've seen... Things in there. In the basement. Feck. We could get them all out. Everyone that was still alive. And then I just set fire to the building. They'll think it was an accident. No one will talk. They are just happy to have gotten out and being able to return to their families."

"But you-"

"I just defended your honour. I thought being a real war hero would make me feel different. But it's not. It just had to be done. It had to stop."  
He shrugged with a small smile, to calm Dan down. 

Emotions fought against each other on Dans face as he tried to process everything.  
Then Daniel just grabbed his face with both hands.  
"You. Are. A complete Psychopath."  
With that, he kissed him passionately, running his hands through his hair. Kevin had his hands on his waist, before he let them carefully run downwards. Daniel felt so fragile in his arms. So terribly underweight. 

"I did it for you," Kevin said, completely out of breath, when Dan finally had to gasp for air. 

"That's what they always say," Dan said and took his hands. 

Kevin didn't like that the space between them increased again.  
"I'm not going to do it again, if it makes you uncomfortable. -Ouch. Careful. I burned my hand. The good one." 

"Give me your hand... I see nothing," Dan said.

"But it's hurting. You should put a bandage on it and softly scold me for being so irresponsible, yet so brave and after that we make out."

Without another word, Dan let go of him, went to the other room and rummaged through the first aid kit, he found in the bedroom, under a stack of old newspapers.  
"You can have a dinosaur band aid," he finally said. 

"What do we do next?", Kevin asked, after Dan had put one on his index finger, while saying nothing at all and just rolling his eyes. 

"We need to burn your clothes. They smell like smoke," Dan said gravely. 

"We can't," Kevin said in shock.

"Why. It's evidence." 

"You can't destroy the pullover," Kevin said more sharply than he had intended. 

"We could put it in the washing machine instead." 

"Ok." 

Kevin followed him into the bathroom, where the washing machine was. 

"Get out of the pullover."

-

==========D

-

Kevin obeyed. 

"Now shirt and trousers as well."

Dan had his arms crossed as he watched Kevin slowly getting out of his socks first, without breaking eye contact. 

"I did it only for you," Kevin repeated. 

"Stop saying that." 

"You do think it is quite hot, don't you?" 

"No," he said. Like a liar. 

"Maybe you could help me undress. I've hurt my fingers. Remember?" 

Daniel stepped closer, then he let his hands slide under Kevin's shirt. The taller one didn't flinch, although Dans hands were very cold. In the next moment the shirt was on the floor. 

"I would do anything for you, Dan," he said as he slowly unbuttoned his pants.  
Then the trousers were on the floor. 

Kevin picked them up and put them together with his socks and the shirt and pullover in the washing machine. Then he blindly put in some washing liquid. 

"Ok I turned on the washing machine. You are next."

That made Dan laugh against his will. Laugh like the idiot in love he was. 

"... Seeing anything you like? ", Kevin asked, one eyebrow raised, when Dan stayed quiet. He leaned against the washing machine trying to look as sexy as humanly possible.

Daniel stared into his face, like he wanted to prove something to himself. But his eyes very soon wandered off anyway and he bit his lips as he looked him up and down.  
Kevin was just in his underpants (green with little clown faces on them) leaning against the washing machine, his arms crossed. His skin was really white in this light. A small smile on his face.

"I'm going to do anything to protect you, because you are the best thing that could happen to me. Jim Pickens is gone and he won't come back. It's over, now. You- we are free, Daniel." 

"You are only saying that, because...  
What's the deal with the pullover, anyway?", he sighed.

"No. I mean it. I would kill for you and I would die for you. Anytime.  
And you have to finally accept, that you are not alone anymore.  
I' ll be there for you, if you want it or not," then he gestured behind him, and continued reluctantly: "It's the pullover you gave to me when we first met. I kept it ever since. It helped me through a lot to be honest. Looking back, I think that this act of kindness made me fall for you. I only survived the accident because you were there. And I was wearing the pullover that day. You both seemed to protect me."

"That's not... Kevin," he gasped softly. 

"Of course it is true. You are the only important thing for me. ...And I love it, when you say my name," he said, reaching out for him slowly. 

"Shut up, already."  
Then Dan threw himself into his arms and kissed him like they had never kissed before, pushing him against the washing machine. Although Kevin knew, what was coming, he gasped in surprise, when Dans warm body was pressing against his. And Kevin pulled him impossibly close.  
Then he helped Dan get freed from shirt and trousers, 'hurting' hand forgotten, finding out in the process, that the shorter one was very ticklish. He made use of that knowledge, kissing him, until laughing and giggles made the anger and sadness go away. Kevin's skin tasted like smoke, Dan noticed and found it delightful in a weird way. They might have to take a shower later. Preferably together.  
Then Kevin picked him up and sat him on the washing machine, without stopping to kiss him. He stood between his thighs, not caring, that he was also pushing buttons on the washing machine.  
The butterflies in their stomachs were burning and it felt wonderful.  
Dan moaned his name loudly as his fingers started to wander downwards. Then they suddenly stopped. 

"Are you ready?", Kevin asked. 

"I'm ready," Dan answered. 

-

==========D

-

Smoke surrounded him. 

Fire around him. Fire in his lungs.  
He coughed. And he coughed some more. 

Everything was gone. Everything he had build up for all these years. 

All these years of hard work.  
Enslavement. Torture. Killing. 

No one was going to save him.  
That was clear.  
He had to save himself. 

Jim Pickens rose from the ashes and left the ruins of the still burning building, only one thing on his mind.  
Revenge.


	16. tea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I appreciate you all so much.

They got back to the cat café hours later, bringing Burnt Marshmallow with them. The small black cat was very happy to be back and Dan really hope she wouldn't spread any new gossip around about what she probably had witnessed.  
But he was quickly distracted from these thoughts, when he saw the crowd of people that had filled the edge of the universe.  
There were a lot of distressed people. Jill and Lauren were still taking care of all of them. Also the cats were working really hard, purring loudly and trying to distract everyone from the horrors of last night.  
The Moonbucks coffee shop had burnt to the ground completely destroying every evidence of what had happened there only hours later. Little did they know, that one of the local fire fighters had been a prisoner there for months until Kevin and the others had saved him. The ex-prisoner was the one who made sure, that the flames wouldn't climb over to the buildings next to the Moonbucks, but the Moonbucks itself could burn down in peace.

But Kevin was being optimistic anyway.  
"It's fine. They won't find out," he whispered over Dans shoulder, while he made several cups of hot cocoa. 

"I still can't believe you did that."  
Something in his voice had changed.  
Instead of anger, there was maybe some sort of admiration. 

"You can thank me again, when we are alone later tonight." 

Dan didn't react, like Kevin had hoped. So he wrapped his arms around him from behind, what didn't really made it easier to make hot cocoa. "What are you thinking about?", Kevin asked, his head on Dans shoulder. His fluffy brown hair was still a little bit damp from their shower, earlier and smelled really nice. Maybe apples.

"At what point are we?", Dan asked.

"That's easy. I'm definitely at the point in life when I don't want my parents to tell me what to do but I still want to blame them for it."

"I'm talking about us."

"I guess you can blame my parents, too. They are pretty cool."

"In our relationship?"

"Oh."

"What are we? Should I call you my boyfriend or my partner or do we not want anyone to know, yet? I mean. I practically moved in with you. And what we did earlier..."

"I think everyone already knows. And all of the above, but we are also best friends and soulmates. Why are you asking? Did I do something wrong? I thought you liked what I did to you on the washing machine earlier. And later in the shower. And after that on the breakfast table. I could do it again right now in the backroom, if you want me to."

Dan giggled, hoping no one had heard that. But then he got serious again and took a deep breath.  
"Of course I liked it. I liked it a lot, as I have already told you repeatedly. But. We haven't said-" He stopped for a moment. "Nevermind. I'm just anxious again. I guess. This was all going very fast, very suddenly."

"No need to be anxious. You are the best partner-boyfriend-soulmate-and-best-friend anyone could wish for."

"You are, too," Dan said softly.

Kevin smiled at him and gave him a gentle kiss.

Dan closed his eyes while hugging him. He was amazed every time at how perfectly he fit into his arms. And after he gently rubbed his back for a while, Kevin left another kiss on his neck, then he went to help calm down the traumatised people, giving them something hot to drink and something sweet to eat. 

"Less trauma, more.... Feck," Kevin said reassuringly.  
The ex-prisoners nodded in melancholy, like they understood.

When Kevin turned around, suddenly a young man stood in front of him. He looked very nervous. He had a white cat with black dots sitting in his arms.  
"Hello, I'm Brian- remember me? I sell pitchforks. And I just wanted to tell you: Thank you for last night. For organizing this. You know?"  
He looked like he wanted to shake hands, but the cat was in the way.

"We were all in this together. And I'm glad it worked. I was really worried there."

"I've never sold that many pitchforks before," the young man said with a wide smile. 

"Well, I'm glad I could help."

"Can we do Martins bookstore in Herbert Road next week?"

"Umm. Actually this was a one time thing."

"He owes me money. And I'm sure the books would burn pretty nicely."

Kevin hesitated.  
He glanced over at Dan. Dan was currently cleaning a table. He watched him for a moment. Then he looked at Brian again, who stood in front of him, waiting impatiently for an answer.

"I'm afraid I can't come. But I can make you admin in the Facebook group, so you can take over things.  
To be honest I had a really rough time the past few months. Actually it feels almost like more than a year. And now I just want to spend time with my boyfriend."  
*who is also my partner and best friend and soulmate.*

"Alright. I'll take care of things in your place, then. I won't disappoint you, Mr. o'Reilly."

"Yeah. I'll hear from you."

"You will."  
Brian did finger guns and then he disappeared in the crowd.  
Kevin looked over at Dan again. Dan smiled at him sweetly before concentrating on the guest he was currently talking to.  
And Kevin knew he wouldn't risk ...*this* for anything in this world.

_______

Jill wrinkled their nose."I wish someone would look at me the way Dan and Kevin look at each other," they told Martha while giving her her tea. 

"Sit down here, child," Martha said before taking a sip.

"Why?"

"I said sit down." 

Jill sat. They stared at the cat she was holding. Rose stared back.

Martha cleared her throat. Then she said: "Sometimes things don't go the way we expect them to go. And that's not always a bad thing."

They were quiet for a bit and Jill felt the need to say something.  
"I don't want to grow old like.... This." 

"Like what? Me? I'm perfectly fine." , she said, acting offended.

"But you never married." 

"No, I didn't." 

"Aren't you lonely?"

"Do I look like I'm lonely?", she asked now really offended. Jill crossed their arms and leaned back, pouting. Martha readjusted her hat. 

"My sweet child, some people lose the love of their life and some never find them. But that doesn't mean they have to grow up without love. You don't have to feel like you are missing something. You are already complete. Think of yourself as a circle. There is nothing more complete than a circle.  
Maybe someday you'll meet another person and together you can be a Venn Diagram. Or maybe you don't - both is fine. And both on its own is complete."

"I don't understand." 

"Love is everywhere. You just have to look," she said unexpectedly softly.  
Rose looked like she would agree.

"I'm just so lonely." 

"The only thing one really needs is a family. And you have a family. Because... Sometimes a family can be two young men that are stupidly in love, a married lesbian couple and their daughter, a bunch of cats, an elderly but still stunning-looking lady and - a teenager with exciting hair."

"You are saying-"

"Yes, we are your family."

Jill smiled.

"My tea is cold. Get me a new one," Martha said and her voice was back to normal.

Jill jumped to their feet again.  
"Thank you," they answered before picking up the room temperature tea.

"Don't tell anyone I said this. We can't let people know, I have a heart," Martha said, leaning back.

~~~

After he had had to shower for much longer than usual this morning, because Kevin hadn't let him stand under the water, he hadn't had the time to properly take care of his hair.  
And now he worried that he looked really terrible. And a small part of him knew that this was ridiculous, because Kevin wouldn't be like 'Your hair looks terrible today, we should break up.'.  
Hopefully.  
He looked at his reflection in a spoon a bit longer, but then he shook his head. Now really wasn't the time to think about that and also where were these thoughts coming from anyway?  
What the hell did have to be so damn uncertain about?

"Thank you so much for helping me out, here. That's really nice of you. But I can't believe you managed to ruin another apron, though," he told Kevin.

"It's nice to be nice, but by god, it's nice to be naughty." 

As soon as Kevin said 'naughty', Daniels thoughts went to some place else. 

And the dark thoughts vanished.

"You are thinking about my offer for the backroom again," Kevin said with a grin, while looking at Dans slightly flushed face.

"Now is really not the time for that."  
He hid his smile.

"Ten minutes," Kevin said and nudged his side. 

"No."  
But he had to giggle.

"Fine. But you are missing out on something."

"Stop sulking. You are the worst person ever."

"I know."  
Kevin sounded somewhat proud.

When most of the guests had calmed down a bit, the café got a lot quieter. The people concentrated on playing with the cats. Kevin had time to sit down with Noemi and Emma.  
The young girl was more than excited about what happened the night before. And she was very proud of her moms and her 'uncle Kevin'.  
But now she had to do her homework and stop asking questions, that no one really could answer appropriately anyway.

"Feck. He looks so pretty today," Kevin whispered to Noemi, while watching Dan hurrying around between the guests, making sure everyone had everything they needed.

"That's gay," Noemi said.

First Kevin wanted to apologise, but then they shared a look and had to laugh.

"Everything ok between the two of you?"

Kevin hesitated, but then he said:  
"I haven't told him, that I love him yet. And I think, that is bothering him. Of course he knows that I do. But I should say it."

"Then what's the problem? Just tell him...?", Noemi said.

"It can't be that easy."

"Nothing ever is with you, huh?"  
Noemi rolled her eyes.

"You could write him a card. I have to design birthday cards for art- class. You could make a card for Dan," Emma said, pushing some of her stuff over in Kevins direction.

"This is a fecking great idea."

"Or you just tell him," Noemi said.

"I'm 'designing' a card. This is super romantic and shit. And he likes romantic and shit."  
He immediately started.

Now and then Dan would glance in his direction.  
Kevin in his leather jacket, writing on a light blue piece of paper with Emma's crayons looked very brave. 

"What exactly are you writing?", Noemi asked curiously.

"Currently I'm just drawing little butts."

"That's a good start. I guess," Noemi said slowly.

Then Dan brought more cookies for them.  
"What are you doing?", he asked.

"Nothin'." Kevin hid the card with his hands.

But then Dan had to go to another table and Kevin could continue drawing little butts in all colours of the rainbow, smiling to himself.

~~~

In the evening Dan and Kevin watched YouTube videos, while cuddling on the couch together. Kevin had hid the I-love-you-card between his stuff, still waiting for the right moment.  
When it was time to move over to the bed, Kevin groaned in pain, standing up.

"Does something hurt you?", Dan asked, worried.

"Just the shoulders. But that's only because past Kevin was really stupid and didn't sleep at all last night. He also threw a chair."

"Lie on your stomach," Dan said softly, when they entered the bedroom together. "Wait. What was that sound?"

"Was there something at the window?", Kevin looked around.

"Probably a rat."

"We should bring Burnt Marshmallow back here. To take care of that problem"

"We should. But she seemed to like the couch a little bit too much. Sorry about all the cat hair."

"Don't worry about it. I know that no one can escape the cat hair."

And with that, the noise was forgotten.

"Careful."  
Kevin reluctantly moved the blanket aside and then did as he was told.

Dan carefully sat on his back and started to slowly massage his shoulders. 

"I thought, tomorrow we could go on a picnic. You've been so... You. And I want to do something nice for you." 

Kevin didn't answer. 

"Are you OK?", Dan asked, taking his hands off him.

"Roll over and I can do something nice for you right now."

"Not now, Kevin. It'll only hurt worse afterwards. You really need a break. You deserve it. The thing with the Moonbucks. I still can't believe it," Dan said as he continued to massage his shoulders very carefully.

"Alright. Okay."  
He was quiet for a while, before he added: "But I feel like, it would be nicer, if I could actually feel the warmth of your hands."

They struggled for a long time to get Kevin out of his shirt, because he couldn't raise his arms. Then they gave up. And he left the shirt on.

He sighed, when Dan continued to massage his shoulders.

"After all this stress, I thought I could leave Jill in charge of the Edge of the Universe again tomorrow afternoon. They need the money for Uni anyway. And we could do something ...romantic? Maybe a picnic? Only if you like to. I don't want to pressure you..."

"A picnic," Kevin repeated. "This sounds good. I could rent a car and we could drive somewhere."

"You don't have to."

"But I want to."  
He knew that Dan was smiling. His fingers were shaking a bit.

There was a pause, then Dan said quietly: "It's too expensive."

"I got some YouTube money and since I'm not allowed to pay the electricity bills..."

Dan left a kiss on both of his shoulders.  
"How do you feel now?", he asked. Very gently he moved his fingers over the warm fabric. 

Kevin nodded, holding back tears.  
It fecking hurt. He had always hated massages.  
But he didn't have the heart to tell Dan how bad it was, but feck. 

When Dan was done, Kevin said: "Now come here and I-"

"No. You now have to stay warm and relaxed or you will hurt yourself again."

And with that, Dan got another warm blanket and wrapped it around Kevin.

"Are you warm?"

"Could be warmer."  
Kevin wasn't able to move under the blanket. But this was comfortable anyway, although there was still one thing, that could make it better.

Dan nodded, turned off the light and moved very close to him, snuggling against him and doing his best to keep him warm.

"Better. A lot better."

They kissed.  
Dan felt like he would never get tired of them kissing.

"Good night," Kevin said.

"Sleep tight."

"Don't let me bite you in my sleep because you smell and taste like a cupcake."

Dan kissed him again and then he watched him fall asleep, while holding him very close.  
He was wondering how everything had changed the way it had, since the day Kevin had stumbled into the edge of the universe for the first time. Everything had changed so much. And it was-  
He didn't know how to describe it.  
Kevin looked very peaceful in his sleep. How could he look so peaceful?  
Dan hadn't addressed the fact yet, that he had overheard a rumor that Kevin had killed Jim Pickens. That he had actually fucking killed him!  
He hadn't addressed it yet, because he hadn't figured out how he felt about it yet. Deep, deep inside he knew, that he didn't care what Kevin had done. It didn't change his feelings for him in the slightest. And that simple fact worried him to no end.  
Kevin looked so innocent, huddled up in his arms, like an extremely large cat.  
But maybe there was more behind that.

Dan also knew that no body had been found. At least no fresh one that could be identified as Jim Pickens'.  
But on the other hand the firefighters hadn't tried very hard to... Well. To fight the fire.

He carefully pulled him closer and Kevin looked very happy in his sleep.  
And Dan felt in his heart that he was happy, too.  
Happy no matter what had happened.

Outside of the flat a shadow walked over the lawn and disappeared between the trees and into the darkness.

___________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please tell me what you think.  
> I appreciate every single comment and they really help me out.


	17. nightmares and ice cream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the comments, I really appreciate them so much!  
> A few things before we start:
> 
> 1\. It's been brought to my attention that I made a mistake in chapter 5.  
> It makes no sense to use kelvin for any oven that isn't in a laboratory. However [K] = [C] + 273.15 is the correct formula, BUT it would make more sense to use Fahrenheit, so:  
> "The proper formula is F=(1,8xC)+32  
> That means (1,8x165)+32=329"  
> So thank you to the person who commented this, and if you guys see any mistakes please feel free to tell me. It's no problem at all, and I won't get angry or something.
> 
> 2.Huge shout out to yeeteroffeckers who has all of RTs fears memorized, but also probably all other facts about RT. That helped a lot for this chapter. And I have to say his extensive knowledge has also helped in previous chapters.
> 
> 3.Also huge shout out to TaliaThePigeon again, for giving me the idea with the leather jacket. You probably have a bigger influence on this fic than you think.
> 
> 4.Did I forget something else I wanted to say? I probably did.
> 
> 5.I don't take criticism on the Sims part and i blame RT entirely.
> 
> this chapter starts a little bit angsty but then there'll be a lot of fluff.
> 
> Now please enjoy the next chapter and let me know your thoughts and opinions.  
> And thank you so much to everyone helping, commenting and reading this.  
> It means a lot to me.

Dan stood in the middle of a field and he knew he was dreaming.  
He knew it, but he couldn't wake up.  
So he just started walking.

Everything was white and black and grey. The grass was like small needles.  
His cats surrounded him. Their eyes were glowing in a bright white. He couldn't see them move but the circle around him got smaller.

With a sound of thunder they turned into spiders and crawled all over him.  
He opened his mouth and out came a breathless silent scream. They were all over him, eyes now glowing red.  
He wanted to yell for Kevin to help him.

"But he killed me. He killed me, Dan. You are sleeping with a killer," Jim Pickens said as he materialized in front of him.  
And the spiders were gone.

"You are not real!", Dan yelled.  
He turned around and ran and ran and suddenly he stood at the top of a building, wind in his hair, ground so far away, he couldn't see it.  
He was shaking from the panic and fear.

Glowing shadows surrounded him. They had familiar but distorted faces. The ghost didn't seem to acknowledge his presence. And Dan was too stared to directly look at them.  
They flew over the edge of the building and disappeared into fog that came closer and surrounded him and wanted to swallow him. He heard the groaning of ghosts.  
Suddenly the fog was gone and the sky was black with red stripes.

Jim Pickens materialized out of thin air in front of him again. He moved forwards and Dan moved backwards until he felt nothingness behind him. The nothingness pulled at him. He felt the urge to let himself fall.  
Let himself fall and be free.

The voice from Jim Pickens felt like it was coming from far away.  
"He's a killer. A murderer. Kevin killed me. You know it, but you still sleep with him like a little c-"

Dan jumped forwards and punched him.  
But he punched through air.

"Dan? What is wrong?"  
He heard the sounds of the blankets moving.  
Next to him Kevin first shifted and then his mobile phone display illuminated the room.

"Hmm?"  
His face was wet and he didn't know why. He quickly cleaned it with a sleeve.

"Hey. Everything is ok. I'm here," Kevin said softly and put the mobile phone aside again.

Dan buried his face on his chest and Kevin gently rubbed his back.

*He's a killer. A murderer.*

"You saved me," Dan whispered.

"What?"

Dan shifted a bit, so he could look into Kevins eyes. The dim light of the streetlamp outside of the window was enough to see the worry on his face.

"You killed him, didn't you."

Kevin hesitated.  
"Technically Martha knocked him out and I just set fire to the building leaving him there."

"Okay," Dan said because he had nothing else to say.

"You should go back to sleep," Kevin said softly.

"Okay," he said again.

Kevin tilted his chin up with a finger so he had to look him in the eyes.

"It's bothering you. Isn't it?"

"I just had a nightmare... I'll be fine." Dan rested his head on his chest again and Kevin wrapped his arms around his waist.  
Then he planted a small kiss in his hair.

"He was a fecking serial killer and he had to be stopped."  
More quietly he added: "I wanted to protect you."

Dan didn't answer and Kevin assumed he had fallen asleep again. He was so tired and it was still the middle of the night.

Kevin whispered, getting more quiet with every word: "I'm not proud of it, but it was necessary. And I would do it again, if I had to. Anything for you, Dan."

They were quiet for a moment.  
When he felt Dan shaking in his arms he started to sing to him softly and very quietly.

"Love of mine, someday you will die  
But I'll be close behind  
I'll follow you into the dark..."

His angelic voice was more comforting than anything else.  
When the song was over, Dan pretended like he was sleeping. In his warm arms he felt save and calm for just a moment. The warmth stayed, but soon his mind wandered off and he couldn't find any rest.  
He was ashamed of the part of him that enjoyed the fact a little too much that Kevin had supposedly literally killed for him.

He found himself in a moral grey zone.  
And he thought back and forth until he couldn't differentiate between right and wrong anymore.

Already fallen back asleep, Kevin snored lightly and pulled Dan a bit closer, sighing contently.  
He felt the warmth of Kevins body and he had to think about how Kevin was always there for him when he needed him. How he genuinely cared for him.  
How his beautiful eyes had that little spark in them when he looked at him, like he looked at no one else.

He sighed deeply and Kevin mumbled something in his sleep.  
It became clear to Dan, that he had already made his decision. He would stay with Kevin. That was what his heart told him. And that was where he belonged. In his arms.

_________

While Kevin got dressed in the morning, Dan packed a basket with whatever he could find around the kitchen.  
Then they had to cover each other in sunscreen, because it seemed like it would become a lovely day.  
Kevin had to admit to himself that his shoulders really felt a lot better this morning.  
Dan on the other hand was really tired.

But first they had to open The Edge of the Universe.

"I was sure, that I had locked the door, last night," Dan said as he put the key back in his pocket. They shared a look.

"Stay where you are. Maybe someone broke in. Let me go in first," Kevin whispered loudly.

"Kevin, no."

"Kevin, yes. I'm going in. Stay here."

He picked up Burnt Marshmallow from the ground and held her like a gun.  
Moving in a way that was probably supposed to look like he was a ninja, he went through the café, but he looked more like he really needed to use the bathroom.

"Was someone here?", Dan whispered to Rose.

Rose blinked twice.

"Ok. Thanks." He gave her a treat.

"Clear," Kevin yelled from the kitchen.

"I don't think this is necessary," Dan yelled back.

His boyfriend ignored him and Dan rolled his eyes.  
"Clear," Kevin yelled from the backroom.  
He came back to Dan and sat Burnt Marshmallow on a table.

"No problem. You are save as long as you stay with me," Kevin said. Then he stumbled over an orange cat and Dan caught him before he could hit his head.

First they were a bit shocked but then they had to laugh as he helped him to his feet again.  
"In the end I'll be the one who will have to watch out for you," Dan said and left a kiss on his cheek before he had to clean the water bowls.  
And soon the first guests arrived.

______

Dan played with the Laser Noemi had given to him, while Kevin ruined another apron in the kitchen, trying to prepare something nice for the picnic.

The cats were delighted.  
So were the guests. There were quite a few again.

Finally Jill arrived and Dan realized, that Kevin had left a while ago. Then he spotted him through the window, so he said goodbye to Jill, gave them a few last instructions and went outside.

"The car is waiting," Kevin said and put on his sunglasses.

"Oh, you shouldn't have-"

"It's fine. I got it really cheap. Someone probably died in there. And it's quite small. Also the radio doesn't seem to be working. I'm sorry," Kevin said leaning against the black 2001 Volkswagen Beetle.

"It doesn't matter. This is so sweet of you."

"I'm not sweet. I'm a bad boi. Look. I have sunglasses and a leather jacket. And I'm going to abduct you now," Kevin said and grabbed him by the waist.  
Dan made a squeaky-sound.

"I'll call the police," a random passer by said.

"To a picnic. I drive him to a picnic," Kevin clarified, letting go of Dan.

The passer by gave them a weird look. But then he kept walking.

"Get in the car, before anyone else tries to save you from me."

Dan laughed and climbed into the car, while Kevin held the door open for him.

~~~

Kevin started driving and Dan watched buildings and people and other cars fly by. The car smelled maybe a tiny bit weird and the radio didn't quite work. It made him more or less uncomfortable that Kevin had one hand on the radio and one hand in his hair most of the time while driving.  
But soon they found a nice parking spot next to the parc they wanted to go to.  
Kevin got out of the car and then ran around it to help Dan out of it, which made him laugh again.

They found a nice shadowy spot for their picnic. 

"We forgot the basket," Kevin stated as they sat down underneath a tree, close to a pond. There were some other couples scattered across the meadow. There were also some kids playing football and badminton.

"We?"  
Dan raised an eyebrow.

"I. I forgot the basket. Don't blame me. Blame the Amnosia. ...I'll get us some ice cream instead."

The sun was shining brightly. The black leather jacket was too warm. His heart was warm as well and every time he saw Dan smile at him, it made little happy jumps. 

Kevin bought ice cream for both of them, while his boyfriend waited and watched the ducks and the goose in the pond. He sat down next to Dan, and put one arm around his shoulders as he gave him his ice cream.

"Wanna try mine?", Dan asked, after they ate for a while in silence.

"Yes, I'd like to."

Kevin kissed him. Their lips were cold and sweet. No specific sweetness, just a bit artificial.

"Nice. Good. ...flavour."

Dan chuckled lightly, then he cupped Kevins face with his free hand and kissed him a second time.  
"Yours is ... very good, too."

They looked into each others eyes. Butterflies surrounded them.

"Oh, feck. I forgot we had ice cream," Kevin said as he remembered there was something melting in his hand that wasn't Dan.

"That was gross."

He laughed.

"I'm feeling a bit cold now," Dan said, when they had finished their ice cream.

"Here. Have my jacket," Kevin said as he already removed his leather jacket. It was much too warm for him anyway.

"Thank you," Dan said as Kevin helped him into the jacket. He immediately started to feel a lot warmer. It was much too big and he probably looked ridiculous, but it didn't matter.

They had to laugh at two children getting chased by a goose in the distance. They screamed and shrieked and the goose honked at them.

Kevin leaned against the tree more properly. The tree was scratchy and his back hurt, but he would never want to change his position, because Daniel used his lap as a pillow, smiling with his eyes closed. There were also some bugs, they tried to ignore.

Kevin ran a hand through his hair very gently. Again and again.  
Dan made a noise not quite unsimilar to those of his cats and Kevin was annoyed that they were in public and he couldn't make Dan make this noise again and again.

Neither of them cared, that Dan had now a bit ice cream in his hair.

__________

After some time had passed, Kevin took the I-love-you-card from his trousers pocket.  
He had folded it three times and now it didn't look as pretty anymore.  
There was a little bit of glitter on it.  
Dan still had his eyes closed and Kevin put the card next to him on the ground so he could very fecking romantically give it to Dan when he opened his eyes again.  
He looked so peaceful, the terrors of last nights nightmare forgotten, and Kevin soaked in all the little details.  
He watched his chest rise and fall. His eyelashes looked very pretty in the light that found its way between leafs and tree branches. His soft lips were a little bit parted. He wanted to kiss him again, but he didn't want to disturb him.

When Kevin looked up again, he stared right in the eyes of the goose from before.  
Then everything happened really fast.

"Oh, feck," Kevin yelled at the goose.

"What?", Dan asked without opening his eyes.

The goose had the I-love-you-card.

"Feck," Kevin repeated with more emphasis as he reached for the goose.  
The goose honked.  
It sounded like it was making fun of him.

"What are you doing?", Dan asked, sitting up.

"I need to catch the goose," Kevin said.

"Leave the goose alone. Kevin!"

But Kevin already ran after the goose.  
The goose was faster, though. By a lot.  
Dan watched his boyfriend chase after the goose until the evil creature jumped into the pond.  
He could see Kevin contemplating going after her, but then he just gave up.

Helplessly, Kevin had to watch as the goose dropped the card in the middle of the pond.

"Idea for a video: I go on a romantic date with my boyfriend but he gets wrecked by a goose," Dan said, when Kevin let himself fall to the ground next to him, completely out of breath, sad and defeated.

"...Are you ok?"

"No," Kevin answered.

They were quiet for a moment as they watched the goose attack another couple at the far other side of the pond. Honking and screams of terror could be heard in the distance.  
"This will cheer you up. Look, I made the same version of our Sims on my phone. But it's the free App and we -I mean the Sims look kinda weird," Dan said.

"What are you talking about? We look exactly the same."

Then Kevin took the phone from him. "Having more subscribers, I should play the game and you watch."

"Show me how to play it right, then," Dan said with a grin.

Kevin smirked back.  
"First of all Danyel with a y should take a long nice bath." 

He tapped at the screen a few times.  
"Oh no, Kevyn with a y can't join him."

"Kevyn with a y can stand here and watch him."

"I would play it differently," Dan said.

"How?"

"I would make Danyel with a y have a YouTube career. Kevyn with a y would be unemployed, but I would make y- him bake for me all the time. Also I would make inappropriate jokes about my long sword and your little Kevin."

"It's not even that long," Kevin said under his breath and Dan nudged him with a short laugh.  
Then he cleared his throat.  
The 100% irish one pretended like he wasn't annoyed by Dans comment and stared at the phones' screen very intensely.

"In maybe four hours Kevyn with a y could ask out Danyel with a 'y'," Kevin said.

"What if Danyel with a y is faster?"

"He won't be."

Kevin tapped a few things and then held the phone out of reach for Dan again, as he tried to take it from him.

Not taking his eyes off the screen, he groaned.  
"The free version on the phone is so annoying. You have to wait for so long until they can be boyfriends and again so long until they can get married," Kevin said.

"What do we want o- their wedding to look like?"

"I really hope they have one of those flaming cakes. Those that you can light on fire."

"You are not talking about birthday cakes. Are you?"

"No. The other ones."  
Kevin stared at the phone, deep in thought. He gently stroked Dans arm.

"Who would you invite? Don't say Hagrid."

"If he would make you uncomfortable... We don't want to have Kevyn with a y leave Danyel with a y at the altar and running away with PS1 Hagrid.  
I think I would invite Grognac the destroyer attorney at law."

"She's the best."

"Of course she is."

"She can be m- his grooms maid. Hey! What are you doing?"

"Have I already told you today that you look absolutely fecking gorgeous?", Kevin asked as he took another photo of him.

"No, but you should definitely tell me more often."

"You are as beautiful as a flower, Dan. Now it's your turn."

Dan looked at him and bit his lips. Kevin was ...Kevin. And in Dan's eyes he was just absolutely perfect.  
He didn't even know where to start.

"You have eyes-"

"Thank you I'm taking that as a compliment."

"Wait-"  
But Kevin just kissed him. 

"It's ok. I make people speechless with my looks all the time," he laughed.

Then they were silent for a while.

"I'm exhausted," Dan suddenly said and had to yawn again.

"Then I can be your pillow again."

Dan kissed him softly, before he used Kevins lap as a pillow again. He sighed as he tried to get into a comfortable position.

Kevin kept his phone and asked: "Is it ok, if I go through your Twitter?"

"Sure. Just don't post anything weird. And don't post pictures or something."

"Daniel James Condren, I would never do such thing."

"My middle name is not James. Why do people keep saying that. You know what? Never mind."

Kevin went through Twitter, while playing with Dans hair with his free hand. The parc got a lot more quiet as time went by.

"What are you doing, anyway?", Dan asked after a yawn, when more shadow started to fall on them and the children playing in the distance got more quiet.

"I read the replies to your tweets and then investigate the profiles of people who leave rude comments."

"Don't you think this is kinda weird."

"I'm protecting you."

"Don't do that," Dan said with a sigh.

"But look at that for example. Jimothy Pinkerton commented on our picnic tweet."

"What does he say?"

"He says you look stupid wearing my leather jacket over your suit," Kevin replied with a frown.

"Did you post a pic of me? I told you not to. Jesus, Kevin."

Dan stood up, got out of the jacket and threw it into Kevin's lap. Then he crossed his arms. "Let's go home."

"No. Dan wait. I didn't post a pic."

They froze.

"Oh no."


	18. famous last words

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the comments! They make me so incredibly happy! I don't even know what to say
> 
> I know easter is over (Unless you are reading this on easter, years later, in which case I'm wishing you happy easter), but I hid some easter eggs. Who can find them?  
> Please let me know if you found one.
> 
> Also: I don't know, if this fandom needs it, but Trigger warning for blood and also violence.  
> This chapter is a bit darker, but as I promised everything will turn out fine eventually. 
> 
> This fic started as a coffee shop Au -can you believe?
> 
> Anyway please enjoy and be careful. There is a lot of blood, but I tried not to write it too graphic.

"Oh no."

Kevin got to his feet as well so fast the world started spinning around him.  
He wanted to take Dans hand when he saw how white he was now.  
Dan looked around. There were still the other couples having picnics, some kids were still playing football, in the distance the honking of the goose could be heard.

Someone laughed. It was a picture book perfect evil laugh.  
Jim Pickens stepped from behind the tree, pointing a small kitchen knife at them.

The three of them stared at each other for just a moment. Jim Pickens looked horrifying. Half of his skin had been marked by the flames in the Moonbucks coffee shop. But he would still look like someones handsome old grampa, just with a lot of burned skin, but there was something evil about him. The thing that really made him look terrifying was the smile he wore. The smile of someone who had found his purpose and now felt like he was unstoppable.

And suddenly Jim Pickens attacked.  
He lunged at Dan but Kevin jumped in front of him. They punched and scratched each other, falling to the floor and Kevin felt blood on his hands. Dan hit with a branch he had ripped off the tree after Jim Pickens but it wasn't a good branch and it didn't do much damage. Kevin rolled over the ground fighting Jim Pickens until the older men kicked him off and they both quickly got back to their feet.  
But something wasn't right. Jim Pickens laughed again.  
In shock Kevin looked down to see the knife had slid open a good part of his right leg. He didn't feel anything. He just heard Dan scream.

Licking his lips, Jim Pickens watched them.

Kevin felt like he had to vomit, but the feeling passed and then he stood next to Dan again. He felt him shaking next to him, while he had problems to keep his balance himself. He glanced around very quickly, searching for help but like in a nightmare the parc was now completely empty. There was no one there who could help them.  
Dan almost fell over, but Kevin held him by his arm and then shoved himself in front of him, protectively.

"Your time is over. You deserve to die, Daniel," Jim Pickens said.

"No, I don't."

"Oh, lieing makes you go to hell," the old man said.

He raised his arm and to their horror he was now holding a gun. It was unclear where it came from. It was just suddenly there. Very real and very loaded.

"WHY? Why do you do all of this?", Dan yelled.

"I was curious what would happen."

They didn't know what to reply to that, but then Jim Pickens continued talking: "You have no idea how hard you made it for the Moonbucks café. You and your stupid cAt cAFè. Trying to hELp YouR FrIEndS. Disgusting."

"I just-"

"Now move! I don't have all day. Still need to fix all the damage you've done. Let's go somewhere a little bit more private where I can have some fun with the two of you. I can show you my knife collection. It's really pretty."

While the psychopath had been talking, behind Kevin, Dan reached in his pocket and his hand clasped around the laser.

"I'm going to make a monster out of you. A monster just like me," Jim Pickens said.

"Look at me!", Dan yelled as he jumped to the side.

Jim looked.  
Then he screamed. Not so much in pain but in surprise.

He was blinded on one eye, as he let the gun fall.

Dan took Kevins hand and they ran.  
Not very fast, because Kevins leg was not only hurting but also bleeding because of the wound and Dan had to half carry him.

_____

They ran to the car, not daring to look back.  
"Feck. My leg. I can't drive like this.  
You have to drive. I -I can't do that right now," Kevin yelled throwing the keys over to Dan. Dan picked them up from the ground. With shaking fingers he almost didn't manage to open the door.

Kevin and Dan entered the car. 

"You have to turn the key the other way," Kevin said trying to do the calming voice of an instructor, but failing miserably. Try to stay calm and take the -. No, the other one. Don't be afraid."

"I am not afraid."  
He sounded very afraid.

"Push the pedal. No the other one. Oh feck."

Kevin looked into the mirrors, but Jim Pickens wasn't there anymore. He got pressed into his seat, when Dan suddenly started driving full speed. 

He almost hit a pedestrian and they both screamed.  
Kevin had to grasp the steering wheel a lot, before Dan managed to stay on his side of the road most of the time.  
They drove and drove until behind them their world disappeared. 

"Do you even have a drivers license?", Kevin asked and in the same moment it became clear to him, that that had been a unnecessary question. Stupid Past-Kevin.

"No. But how much harder than mario kart can it be?"

Someone behind them was honking angrily.

"At least no one is throwing blue shells at me," Dan said with a cough, desperate to lighten the mood a bit.

"That was only one time and I apologized."

Dan took a sharp turn right and Kevin buried his nails into the seat.  
Slowly he started to feel the pain in his leg.

He reached for the first aid kit and found it underneath his seat. Like he had seen it in movies and video games he cleaned the wound and then put a bandage on it, always with one eye on the street.  
They didn't know, where they were going. Just away. Far away.

With Kevins help they stayed on the correct side of the street most of the time.

"If we don't make it, I want you to know something," Kevin started solemnly.

"Don't say that. We are going to make it," Dan said with the confidence of someone who was sure he was going to die any minute now but didn't want his boyfriend to know that.

But his boyfriend knew.  
"The past few months were the happiest of my life and I want you to know, that you mean the fecking world to me, Dan. I've felt like that for a long time and-"

"No, don't say it. We are not going to die. Not today. Maybe not at all. There's no way he could still be following us."

"Not with your driving style," Kevin said dryly, crossing his arms. Maybe their romantic moment would never come. He watched Dan from the side for a short while. What should they do next?  
He thought about Dans offer to move to the countryside, live a peaceful life, have a huge garden with the cats and maybe some chickens and-  
More angry honking ripped him out of his thoughts.

When he was at least seventy three percent certain, that Dan could drive on his own for a second, Kevin tried to phone Noemi and then Lauren, but he couldn't get a good connection.

Was the cat café in danger?  
They knew Jill was there.  
At this time of the day Martha should also be there. Both of them together with the cats would know what to do.  
Surely.  
But Dan and Kevin didn't.  
They had survive but still they had lost.  
When Kevin touched his hand as he corrected the direction of the car, Dan played with the thought of never going back at all.

They only slowly started to calm down.

"If we practice a bit more and you really teach me how to drive, I guess you can soon call me Drift Daddy," Dan said.

"Yes to calling you daddy, no to teaching you how to drive. WATCH OUT!"

Disappointed honking could be heard.

"How many times do I have to tell you that you have to stop at a red traffic light?", Kevin asked, heart pounding fast.

"I didn't see it. ...Which one is the brake anyway?"

"Feck! Look at the street not at your feet! Jesus, Dan."

There was a pause.

"Jesus, take the wheel," they both started singing simultaneously

Dan giggled hysterically, while Kevin continued singing. There was still fear in his voice.

They left the city and somehow they had managed to not hit a single car, pedestrian or sign. Kevin was almost certain there was magic involved.

And somewhere on a lonely street in the fields, close to the sea, where there wasn't any other car to be seen, Dan managed to stop the Volkswagen, which wasn't recognizable as such anymore due to the fact that it was covered in dust, but also leafs and feathers among a few other things.

"Kevin, I'm sorry, I really need to go to a bathroom."

"Thank god, nature is just a big bathroom," Kevin said.  
He was very relieved, that the world had stopped moving. With a grunt he opened the door and half fell out of the car. After such a long time of this hell ride he was glad to feel firm ground beneath his feet.

Dan got out of the car as well. He looked around, and then back to Kevin.

"Do you want me to come with you, or do you wanna go alone?", Kevin asked, leaning against the car to hide the fact that he was shaking a bit.

"I'm not afraid to walk this road alone. I don't need your protection."

"This is not about protecting you. I feel more like those sheep over there need protection from you."

"A line has to be drawn somewhere. I really don't want you to ...come with me, when I ...yeah. No," Dan said. He had already started walking away.

"Just don't walk off and stay away from the sheep," Kevin yelled after him.

"I would never do anything to a defenseless sheep," Dan yelled back.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. Did you know, that you talk in your sleep?"

Dan wanted to reply something witty, but he couldn't concentrate, because he really needed to go.  
Kevin watched him disappear behind a tree in the distance. 

The fields looked really stunning.

He took a deep breath. It smelled like nature.  
But what in the world should they do next? He worried for Dan.

Then he noticed something. ABBAs Dancing Queen had started playing eerily.

He hobbled around the car. The music got louder.

Without using his head to think for a moment first, he opened the trunk. 

"Surprise, motherfecker," Jim Pickens said, climbing out of the trunk.  
He was a bit shaky on his feet as well and had to hold with one hand the car while he pointed the gun with the other in Kevins general direction. The taller one stumbled a few steps backwards in the opposite direction of which Dan had went. From Jim Pickens phone which he had left in the open trunk, Dancing Queen continued playing.

"What are you going to do? Kill me?", Kevin couldn't take his eyes off the gun in his hands.

"No, I'll send you to a farm upstate. Of course I'm going to kill you, just to see Daniels face."

Kevin stumbled backwards a few steps more. The old men followed him, moving away from the car.  
He needed Jim Pickens to concentrate on him entirely, so Dan would have enough time to run away.

"I think I left my dog in the washing machine, I have to go back or he won't be able to drive me to work tomorrow," Kevin said while making intense eye contact.

"Just. Give up. No one will care," Jim Pickens said.

"I will fecking care."

"Caring is pointless. Where is Daniel?"

"He is gone. We broke up and he left me. He won't come back," Kevin lied.

"Ah. I see. Shall we go looking for him together? I have something fun planned for him."

"What do you want to do for him?"

"Kill him. This is always a lot of fun. I'm afraid someone has to die tonight."

There was a pause and Kevin swallowed hard.  
"Kill me instead. Let him go."  
The words had left his mouth before he had finished the thought.

"Aww. Now I have a better idea. Thank god I still have two bullets."

"Do it already. Shoot me twice instead of him, ...old stinky man."

But Jim Pickens seemed unimpressed by the half assed insult.  
"Don't you want to wait for your boyfriend to save you?"

"No."

There was a pause and then Kevin added, defeated, "In the end we are all alone and no one is there to save you."

"Aww! You are so right. I might kill you just like that right now. And you know why? Not because you are practically begging for it. But. Because I can. -by the way, Kevin. Your videos were never as good as the person you would rather be," Jim Pickens said. He laughed maniacally.

"I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have," Kevin answered, holding his head high.  
This was it.  
This was how it was ending.

*Please, Dan. Run. Please be safe.*

The gun shot was a lot louder than they had expected. And gracefully, Kevin fell backwards, for the soft grass to catch him.

________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who can tell me, who is Kevin quoting?
> 
> Also until you finished reading this I was hopefully able to also post the next chapter, because I don't want to leave you on a cliffhanger yet again. So if you are really early, try refreshing the page a few times.  
> But I have a good reason for putting it in two chapters, but I'm not going to explain why.  
> Anyway I hope you enjoyed this and it didn't hurt too much.  
> Everything will be fine.


	19. The Monster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHH. I'm so excited for this.
> 
> Please enjoy.
> 
> Also still Trigger Warning for blood and violence.

From too far away, Dan saw Kevin hit the ground with a sound he would never be able to forget again.  
Maybe he had just imagined it, but it was still in his ears when he started running.

He ran faster than he had ever run and tackled the old man, when Jim Pickens was still staring at the unmoving Kevin, very pleased with himself.

When he lost the ground underneath his feet, Jim Pickens dropped the gun and it slipped out of reach as they both fell.  
They fought on the ground. Dan scratched and bit him until he tasted blood.The anger and hurt made him fight like he never fought before.  
But suddenly he felt cold metal against his bare skin. He froze and Jim Pickens got to his feet again, holding the knife against Dans throat.

Unable to move, he felt like he was watching himself from a distance.

"Look at him. He is dying and it is your fault," Jim Pickens said tilting Dans head with cold fingers so he had to look at him. "Look at what you did. Tststs. It's time to say goodbye, Daniel."

Frozen, he watched Kevin lieing on the ground, motionless. 

*Please, breathe. Please, please, please don't be dead.*

"Anyway. So that was fun. But now back to you. What are your final words going to be, son?" 

The knife already cut into his flesh and then he made a decision.  
"I see you in hell," Daniel said and then he pushed him. 

He felt pain as the knife cut his throat but it wasn't a deep cut, not worse ghan if it had been paper, but he had caught Jim Pickens in surprise and was able to free himself. 

He kicked him closer to the edge. The knife disappeared behind the cliff.  
Then both their eyes fell on the gun on the ground. 

Everything went quiet as they both leaped forwards. But Dan was faster.  
Dan was on his feet again first and Jim Pickens stumbled backwards, closer to the edge of the cliff.  
The gun in his hands was cool and heavy. From some game he had probably played he vaguely recalled, that it should be a Ruger .45 Blackhawk revolver. It was cold and heavy in his hands. It felt too real.  
Jim Pickens raised his hands defensively.

"Daniel, you don't have the balls-" 

Dan pulled the trigger.  
He immediately let the gun fall and stared at him in horror.  
Jim Pickens touched his forehead and looked at the blood on his hands in confusion.  
Then he fell backwards over the cliff and the darkness swallowed him completely.

Screaming Dan ran over to Kevin and fell on his knees besides him.

"Kevin," Dan said. He took his bloody hand and kissed it. He felt sick.  
With shaking hands he touched him. He saw that the bullet had went straight through the shoulder.

"Kevin, please don't die. This is all my fault." 

Hysterically he felt for a pulse but couldn't find any.

"Oh no. Oh no. Oh no," he whispered quietly.  
Kevin didn't move.

"I'm not ready to say goodbye," Dan said almost soundlessly.

One of his tears fell on Kevins face, while he let a hand run through his hair.  
He leaned over and softly kissed his warm lips. It was a long kiss, because he didn't want to let go.  
Couldn't let go.  
And suddenly Kevin started to respond.

Dan pulled back to look at him.  
"Shit. Are you ok?"

"Much better, now that you are here," Kevin said with a weak smile.

"Idiot. ...Don't scare me like that," Dan said very fondly. He kissed him again, very carefully.  
Then he pulled away to inspect Kevins wounds more closely.  
They looked bad.  
But they also didn't seem to bother Kevin very much.

"Actually. I would die for a hot cocoa right now," Kevin said with a grin, which was now a lot less weak.

Dan moved closer to him again.

"Too soon?", Kevin asked.

"Not soon enough." 

He kissed him again.

Kevin cupped his face and wiped away some tears with his thumb. Then they leaned their foreheads against each other.

"I thought I lost you for a moment."

"Trust me it's a lot harder to get rid of me."

They had to chuckle. And it hurt.  
Daniel cracked into a big smile and Kevin pulled him close to taste this beautiful smile again.

"Talking about hard-"

"Kevin, no, you are literally bleeding from your shoulder right now."

They paused and just stared into each others dialated eyes.

"You've got some blood on your face."  
Kevin touched his face again and smeared some blood around on his cheek.  
Dan had to laugh and moved backwards, but Kevin pulled him close again.

"Wait, there is more-"

Kevin spit on his hand and made everything a lot worse. Dan had to laugh so hard, that he couldn't breathe.

When he could think at least a little bit straight again, he quickly got the first aid kit from the car. Neither of them knew much about first aid. But they managed to clean each others wounds a little bit before wrapping each other in bandages.

They helped each other stand up, as the taller one hissed in pain. Dan picked up the bullet from the ground that had went through Kevin. He put it in his pocket, not sure why he wanted to keep it, but whatever.  
They got very serious again.

"Is he really gone?", Kevin quietly asked.

Slowly and holding onto each other, they moved over to the edge of the cliff. Far down there probably was water.  
And far away they could hear the sounds of waves and seagulls.

They looked down into the darkness together.

"Is he really gone?", he repeated.

"There is no way he could have survived this."

"I'm proud of you."  
He squeezed his hand gently.

"I'm worried because I don't feel bad about it."

"You killed him because he was a bad person." 

"I don't know if that justifies it. I never thought I could... Oh shit. He made a Monster out of me. A monster just like him."  
Dan buried his face in Kevins chest, careful not to hurt him.  
Kevin gently rubbed his back.

"You are nothing like him. Don't even think about it for a second. You protect the things you love. I knew you had it in you, the moment I found out you hit me with the fire extinguisher."

"How did you find out? Did they tell you?", Dan asked, looking up again.

"Well, now I know for sure." He laughed. "No, they didn't slip again. But the dent in the fire extinguisher is Kevin-shaped."

"I can't believe I've done this." He stared over his shoulder in the direction of the edge.

"I forgive you."

"What about Mr Pickens?"

"I was talking about him. You have to still make up to me for fecking hitting me. I'll think of a punishment, trust me."

Then he kissed him. It tasted salty.  
Maybe it was the tears. Maybe it was the sea.  
There probably also was a bit of blood.

"Whatever it will be, it might involve you wearing your glasses. Maybe also a beard. But. Don't feel guilty for what happened today. You are a fecking hero," Kevin said.

"I don't feel like one."

"But you are. You are my hero," he said and squeezed his hand very gently.

"You should drive yourself to the hospital."

"They gonna ask questions."

"We should lie."

"What you gonna tell them? 'No, it's nothing serious. Just a bit of BDSM that has gotten out of control'?"

"That's how all our Bible Discussion and Study Meetings end," Dan said innocently.

"I want you to discuss the bible with me so hard right now."

Dan snorted. "If I have to remind you, you are still bleeding. Your bandages are so soaked in blood I can barely look at them. Now that this is off the table, what else do you suggest we do now?"

"I want you to patch me up at home. I want you to patch me up, while scolding me for being an idiot. It would be nice to have your hands carefully cleaning the wounds. But it would also fecking hurt, because it really hurts pretty much, right now.  
-Also you should be shirtless while doing so. Yeah, that would help."

Dan had to laugh again.  
Kevin loved the sound he made when laughing.  
His hair was a mess in the wind. He was covered in blood. And he looked at him with shining eyes. The bandage covering the cut on his throat looked like a scarf.  
Dan looked back at him and smiled.  
He was absolutely beautiful.

In front of them there were the last sun rays of the day glittering in the water, far away. The grass beneath their feet was green. There also were tiny yellow and white and pink flowers. Some busy bumble bees were buzzing around.  
Somewhere in the distance were cows. For the irish butter.  
The setting sun painted the sky blood red.  
It was so picturesque and Kevin only looked at him, because he was the most beautiful thing there was and could ever be.

"We should go back soon. The cats are not going to believe what has happened today," Dan said.

"No, ...they won't."

They didn't move. The bleeding had stopped and the pain was just numb.

"I like to think, that when you give a name to a cat, in exchange, they give you one of their lifes," Dan said after a while of them just standing at the edge to nothingness.

"Is that why Martha is so old? Because she named too many cats?", Kevin asked, grinning.

"She named only one cat.  
Rose.  
After her fiancé that ran away.  
My aunt." 

"Poor Martha," Kevin said.

"Love... is a crazy thing, huh?", Dan said.

"I love you," Kevin said without missing a beat.  
He smiled as he pulled him closer again, leaning down.  
Their noses almost touched. 

Daniel stopped breathing. He opened his mouth, then he closed it again. He could see tears forming in his eyes. 

Kevin carefully touched his cheek again. It was sticky from the half dried blood mixed with saliva.  
But that didn't matter, because it was also warm and soft and most importantly:  
It was Daniel.  
"This is the part when you either say 'I love you too.' or 'get out of my sight you fecking weirdo'," he said. 

"I-" Dan stopped. He looked like he searched for words.  
They laced their bloodstained fingers together.

When he didn't answer, Kevin continued: "I feel like I should have told you earlier that I really love you.  
Once I told you when you were already were sleeping. The problem is, that I'm not good with words anyway. I -I like to show you how much I love you through actions.  
I say it with every song I sing for you.  
I say it with every stupid thing I do for you, because you are the reason I'm ...happy.  
I say it with every time i kiss you, because there is nothing in this world I would rather taste than your soft lips and skin.  
I say it with every moment I spend with you, because there is no one else I would rather spend my time with.  
Every time you look at me with that stupid fecking smile and your stupid eyes and your stupid perfect hair is a moment when time stops and-  
And I just see you, and I know that I'll never want to leave you. And-  
I know you are insecure, but you have to just open your eyes and see how fecking brave you are. You don't have to be so uncertain anymore." Kevin shook his head and paused, but Dan was completely speechless. "Please make me stop talking.  
Please say something, Dan. Oh, ...Feck."

"I was just- I wanted to say the same thing that moment. And you caught me off guard. This was-  
Oh, Fuck. Kevin. I love you. I love you to the moon and back." 

"To the Great Fecker and back," Kevin repeated. Then Dan closed the last distance.  
Their kiss was like all their other kisses before. Uncoordinated and sloppy and long and astonishing in its perfection.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At this point I'd like to say that I made a playlist some time ago. If you'd like to listen to it, here it is:  
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4vs1LcU8XXzX7B7RKSpLyW?si=QP0NXyn8SjSyC3R3GPuGPw
> 
> Aaand if you'd like to talk or something, you can find me on tumblr (abirdonalilactree) -I mostly reblog pictures of cats and memes, Instagram (abirdonalilactree) -if you'd like to see pictures of my dog, and Twitter (abirdonatree) -I'm basically just liking Dans and Kevs tweets over there.
> 
> Anyway. One more chapter to go.


	20. on their way home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all we got some lovely special fanart by https://cosmicmangoes.tumblr.com/  
> (ok, I'm a 22 year old boomer, clicking on the link won't work but copying and pasting it will)  
> This is so beautiful and exactly the vibe I wanted the last chapter to have.  
> Thank you so much for making this. It's incredible and I hope I didn't feck up and you can see it at the beginning of this chapter. Let me know, if it doesn't work, because like I said I'm not good with the internetz.
> 
> I also got some fanart from previous chapters which I will show you at the end of this fic, because they make me happy, and I still have them as my wallpaper on my phone and also my tablet. You might not know this, but I'm writing this on my phone most of the time, so I'm always looking at it.
> 
> *cough* If anyone else wants to show me fanart (no matter if you want me to also share it here or not) specifically for this fic, just send it to me or tag me in it. BUT it would be wise to not put it anywhere where Dan or Kev could see it. So maybe tumblr would be a save place for that.  
> Messaging me privately is also fine. My username is abirdonalilactree on several platforms.
> 
> Also thank you to everyone who is still reading this and everyone leaving comments -they never fail to make me happy. <3
> 
> By the way: this is not the last chapter.  
> There are several reasons for that.  
> But I think I ranted enough for today. 
> 
> Please enjoy this one. The next one will come soon.

Dan would always remember the drive back to the café. They had yeeted the gun over the cliff and it had disappeared without a sound. Then they had started to make their way back, which hadn’t been easy because Kevin had felt very dizzy due to the immense loss of blood. But he managed to drive them back to the outskirts of Dublin anyway until the tank was empty and the car stopped with a sad sound. And Dan was glad he wasn’t the one who had to drive because he was sure they wouldn’t have survived it this way, but he was worried because Kevin was probably more badly injured than ever before. Having to concentrate on traffic kept him awake, and Dan prayed to any god he could think of, that he would stay that way.

And maybe, just maybe it helped because Kevin stayed strong. He on the other hand had only one thing in mind and that was bringing Dan home safe and sound. The good thing was that their phones worked again because they managed to get back to civilization. Noemi was the first one to answer a phone call. She had also been the person to pick them up. It was against her nature as a scientist to not ask questions, but as a good friend, she drove them the rest of the way home in silence and then picked up some stuff at the pharmacy. Lucky for them she knew someone who knew someone who could have a look at Kevin’s shoulder. He was a trustworthy person and kept his mouth shut for a cup of the best hot chocolate he ever had and an orange striped cat which looked exactly like the one that had run away when he was twelve. Nicolas hadn’t been a doctor just yet, because he was still writing on his thesis, but he knew what he was doing. Dan had held Kevin’s hand the whole time, while the taller one clenched his teeth not to scream. After Noemi and Nicholas were long gone, it was that the information of what had happened started to slowly sink in.

“Kevin, we did it," Dan sat next to the couch, where Kevin was lying. He had brought him a glass of water although Kevin had ordered a bottle of Irish whiskey. But Kevin's poor liver in mind, Dan had decided otherwise.

“Yes, we sure fecking did," Kevin said cheerfully. What had started as a very soft and careful high five, evolved into hand-holding.

“I feel awful," Dan said quietly, gently rubbing his thumb over Kevin’s palm.

“Maybe because you are still covered in blood.”

“I think most of it is yours.” Kevin pulled his hand to his lips and kissed it softly. Then he leaned back again and stared at the ceiling.

“Fecking hell... I still can’t believe this happened. You look so hot, covered in blood, although I think you might need a bath.”

“Ok. I’ll take a bath," Dan said quietly. Kevin tried to get up to follow him, but Dan pushed him down again, gently.

“You stay here.”

~~~

The door opened after a while of Dan just sitting in the warm bathtub and staring at the opposite wall, unmoving.

“I didn’t want to be alone," Kevin said and sat on the edge, trying to hide that he had to hiss in pain.

“It doesn’t hurt so much when I sit very still," Kevin said bravely. He felt his trousers getting wet. The smell of Dan's favourite shampoo was almost overwhelming. It was something sweet that Kevin never managed to exactly pinpoint.

“How are *you* feeling," he said, because he wanted to say something.

“I don’t know how to answer that," Dan said. He still hadn’t really moved, but now his eyes met Kevin’s. The water had turned an ugly grey-red. Kevin picked up a rubber duck and stared at it, almost melancholy. He squeezed it and the rubber duck made a squeaky sound. *squeak* Kevin started stuttering which seemed so unusual for him, while he continued squeezing the rubber duck, not taking his eyes off it.

“Maybe...” *squeak* “...we should...” *squeak* “...go somewhere nice...” *squeak* “Just you and me and we just fecking forget everything.”

“I took a life, Kevin," Dan said, his voice raspy. “I don’t know if I can just forget that.”

*squeeeeeaaaaak*

“But we will never know how many lives you saved," Kevin said after a pause. He knew instinctively that things were bad, when not even the rubber duck could cheer him up.

“But-”

“The answer is don’t think about it," Kevin said and let the duck swim in the bathwater. The duck swam cheerful in the little waves caused by the tiniest movements Dan made. He thought about how he was a bit like the duck, seemingly free to move where ever he liked, but inevitably trapped by something bigger than he could understand. He shook his head.

“We are in this together," Kevin said, reaching into the bathwater and taking his hand.

“But-”

“I’m here.”

“You are," Dan said. And they sat in silence, holding hands until the water got cold.

~~~

It would take time for not only most physical but also mental wounds to heal.

Daniel would have nightmares every second night. Kevin would hold him, and try to make these nightmares go away as best as he could. He would softly sing to him when he sensed that he started to feel anxious. But things got better. When Kevin’s channel really exploded more than he could have ever imagined and he found himself frozen in fear, because there were so many people and what would happen if he disappointed them or if he said something stupid and they would start to hate him, Dan was there for him. He would cheer him up and make him keep going. He would remind him of all the good things in life. The cat café was doing better since they agreed to spend the YouTube money of their joined videos for renovations, that really had been needed. And they started to do videos together as often as possible, whenever they had time on the weekends.

Time past and they were happy.

~~~

The short summer went by faster than expected. Soon autumn painted the leafs red and yellow and brown. Now it was the day before Halloween, the 30th of October. The first rays of sunshine came through the window when Kevin woke up. Next to him, Dan was still fast asleep in his arms.

“Good morning, sweety pie. I love you," Kevin said as he stretched his slightly hurting arms. Calling Dan embarrassing pet names had become one of Kevin’s favourite activities after one embarrassing incident at the pet store which Dan didn’t want to talk and Kevin wouldn’t shut up about. Dan muttered something that could have been something in between an ‘I love you, too.' or an ‘Fuck off let me sleep.' Kevin pulled the blanket away, letting it fall to the floor which was covered in clothes and other stuff and Dan groaned, hiding his face with his hands. Kevin wrapped his arms around him again and kissed his cheek.

“How did you sleep?”, he asked.

“I had the strangest dream," Dan answered cuddling against his chest.

“What happened.”

“We were stranded on an island. You were a crab. We married. ...and then I ate you," Dan said. Kevin smiled at him.

“That doesn’t sound like too bad of a nightmare. I dreamed I forgot to turn on the dishwasher, left some dirty plates on the floor next to it because every other surface was covered in other kitchen stuff which I didn’t know where else to put. Then you stepped into one plate and then you yelled at me.”

“That was not a dream that just happened yesterday.” For a moment Dan was mad at him again. But afterwards, Kevin had cleaned up everything on his own. He had complained a lot. But he had also apologized. Sometimes it was hard to have a chaotic boyfriend like that. He sighed and gently rubbed his arm.

“How do you make me love you so much?”, he asked almost inaudibly.

“By being irresistibly handsome... and also I would be completely fecking lost without you.” They listened to each other breathe for a while.

“It’s raining," Dan said after some minutes of silence. Lost in his thoughts he traced the scar on Kevin's shoulder with his finger. He did it so gently, that he almost didn’t feel his touch.

“That’s just the universe telling us to stay in bed," Kevin said. Dan closed his eyes and smiled.

“I’m so tired," he whispered snuggling into Kevin’s arm a bit tighter.

“We probably shouldn’t have played Mario Kart for half the night.”

“I need the practice for when I start doing the course for my driver's license.”

“I’m not sure if you are ready to even go to a course, after what happened last time when I tried to teach you something.”

“In my defence, your instructions were very unclear," Dan said with a cheeky grin.

Kevin laughed.

“... I know you wanted to do a video later tonight. But. Would you skip work for me?”, Dan asked and pouted at him.

“We could work from here if you let me get the camera.”

“Idiot.” Dan scoffed.

“Get your mind out of the gutter. I was talking about playing the Sims in bed.”

“My idea isn’t so bad either. We would make a lot more money that way... Get a new kind of audience on other platforms... But we should really get up and make breakfast, first.” Neither of them moved.

“Time is a fecking construct," Kevin said quietly. “The cats will be mad, though.”

“It’s Jill’s turn to open the café today.”

Jill was now fully employed and they did a great job of taking care of the cat café, every time Dan couldn’t be there, because he had other stuff to do, like helping with the channel or going on dates with Kevin.

“I forgot," Kevin sighed.

“But we need to go grocery shopping, don’t we?”

“Yeah. What’s for breakfast? I’m hungry.”

“All the free samples we can get.” Kevin reached next to the bed and grabbed some half clean shirt and put it on while sitting up. Dan watched him, smiling absently.

“Remember the last time when you made breakfast in bed for me?”

“How about next Sunday. Ok?”

“Being spontaneous like that is really romantic.” He sighed.

“Why are you in a bad mood?” He leaned back again and gave him a quick kiss.

“Just a bit of morning melancholy.”

“We can make that go away.” He pushed him back into the mattress as he kissed him, which made Dan giggle violently.

“We should really -”, Kevin started quietly, when he leaned back to look him in the eyes. “- get up and make breakfast and start the day," Dan completed the sentence. Then he pulled him into another kiss.

~~~

One and half hours later they were finally in the kitchen, fully dressed and showered.

“What the feck are you doing to the toaster?”

“It won’t give me my toast," Dan said between gritted teeth. Kevin watched him for a moment. Dan seemed angry. Sometimes there would be that tiny bit of darkness there in his eyes, which worried him but a moment later it was gone. Then Kevin took the toaster from him and fixed the problem by turning it off and on again. He handed him the toast.

“Thanks.” Dan bit into it, without bothering to put at least a bit of butter on it. Then there was a beeping sound. It came from his phone. Kevin probably had changed his settings again. It was that harmless and somehow innocent kind of misbehaviour he found adorable. He bit his lips to hide a smile.

“The lads will be here at four," Dan looked at his phone and then at the clock with a frown.

“Are you nervous?”, Kevin asked.

“Why would I be nervous?”

“You tell me.”

“I’m not nervous. We just really need to get going. Or we’ll be late. And I hate being late. You know that.”

“Ok, Shmoopsie," Kevin said before he first kissed his cheek and then went to get his jacket and some empty bags.

“You are the worst person," Dan said quietly with the most adoration possible. 

~~~

At the supermarket, Dan took the shopping cart and each of them took a list of things they needed. When Dan found Kevin again, he had his arms full of stuff and let them fall into the shopping cart.

“Kevin, did you get anything at all from the list I gave you?” Kevin looked at the shopping cart, then at the yellow sticky note in his hand and then at Dan.

“No.”

“Behave or I’ll have you sit in the shopping cart like the toddler you are.”

“You say that like it would be a bad thing.” Dan just shook his head with a smirk. When they got out of the supermarket, Dan looked at the time on his phone again and although they had lost some time due to Kevin’s shenanigans, they could still get the last things they needed and maybe even grab some lunch before they had to go back. So they had to separate again, both of them taking some bags, while Kevin wanted to prove a point and carry the heavier ones, and they went in opposite directions. Dan had to get a special kind of cat food and Kevin had to buy some socks because he always lost one of a pair in the washing machine or at least he said so. Kevin once more had that tiny little butterflies in his stomach, when they found each other again, locked eyes and he saw how Dan's whole face lit up. He did that every time they found each other again when shopping and every time it made his heart happy. When they approached each other, Kevin hid something behind his back.

“What’s that?”, Dan asked.

“What are you hiding?”

“This is a surprise tool, we are going to need later," Kevin answered as he hid something in a bag and another bag. Dan had to laugh at that. Then he asked: “...Are you hungry, too?”

“Yes, Dan, feed me.”

“I know a place where they have really dry fries.”

“Perfect.” While they waited in line, Dan kept looking at his phone. He really didn’t like being late.

“Would you like ketchup with your fries?”

“No, ketchup is just thicccc soup," Kevin answered. The cashier looked a little bit terrified at that. She probably was still new at this place and hadn’t seen the real horrors of accounting yet. When they were finished with lunch, they argued for a while who had to call an uber. Of course, in the end, it had to be Dan. So after Dan had called the uber, a friendly middle-aged man, that helped them get all of their stuff into the trunk, the guy drove them back to the cat café. From the outside, they could very clearly hear that the rest of the Irish lads, as they liked to call themselves, had already arrived. 


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh oh, what's the surprise tool they are going to need later? Who can guess it first? Also yeah, I wanted to post also the new baking bad chapter today , but then the first part got too long , and the next one isn't finished but will come soon. It's looking good so far. As always I have everything fully under control. 
> 
> let me know what you think.


	21. Baking Bad - Irish Lads Edition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello.  
> Thank you so much for all the nice comments again. I appreciate y'all so much! <3
> 
> This chapter was a lot of fun to write.  
> I hope it's also fun to read.

From the outside, Dan and Kevin could very clearly hear that the rest of the Irish lads, as they liked to call themselves, had already arrived.

“You can’t spell Ireland without alcohol,” was the first thing they heard, when they entered the cat café.

“To be fair you always need alcohol to spell something,” Brian said.

“Hi, lads,” James said.

“Hello, Dan and Kevin.” Daithi waved at Kevin and Dan as they entered the room. He was sitting on the floor, a grey striped cat in his arm. The cat purred loudly in a deep tone. Brian was trying to pet a white one, while James got cornered by three orange cats. Each of the lads had brought a bottle of their favourite Irish whiskey.

“Oh, guys, you shouldn’t have!”, Dan exclaimed.

“What he means by that is, that we would have to kick you out if you hadn’t brought anything.”

“I brought the best Irish whiskey. It’s on the far right on the table,” James said, still staring at the cats, that had started to purr threateningly at him.

“This is not the best Irish whiskey,” a voice from another dark corner of the room said.

“And who are you?”, Brian asked.

“I am the law,” Martha said. Brian stared at her and then at Dan. But he was currently occupied with the groceries Martha opened her purse and got out a bottle of Whiskey.

“This is the best whiskey in Ireland.”

“You are carrying that around just like that?”

“I also have pills for the hip, the dementia and the arthrosis. Everything you need for a party.”

“Sounds good,” Daithi said.

“Martha, you can’t mix your pills with alcohol!”, Dan exclaimed and took the bottle from her.

“But-”

“No, Martha.” Dan held it out of reach for her. She pouted as Dan walked away with the bottle. Then she opened her huge purse a bit more and Daithi caught a glimpse of another bottle. He shook his head and she winked at him.

“This one’s brewed by my friend Gabi. I’m gonna smuggle it into the retirement home and sell it there.”

“What are you whispering over there?”, Dan asked.

“What are you boys up to?”, Martha asked loudly.

“Mainly we are triple third wheeling Dan and Kev,” Brian said. He was now holding the white cat in his arms.

“That’s a lot of wheels.”

“Also we are baking Irish Halloween bread,” Kevin said. Outside a huge truck drove by, honking loudly and they turned to look out the window.

“They are barricading the whole street, because of that stupid construction area. I should get going,” Martha said. She closed her purse with another grin to Daithi.

“I might as well close for today. -Jill, I’m not sure how you can help us in here,” Dan said as he saw the chaos made by the construction firm in front of the café. Jill stopped cleaning the floor and looked at him, leaning on the broom.

“But you’ve already paid me for today.”

“Okay. We’ll find something for you to do here then.”

“Have you ever held a camera?”, James asked. Jill just stared at him.

“I can show you how to hold a camera,” James said.

“By the way. We got aprons for everyone,” Dan said and handed each of them one, from one of the bags they had brought. Kevin picked up Burnt Marshmallow with a grunt. She had gotten really big over the past months. He petted her a bit and then he put her in the front pocket of his apron, like he always did, when he wore one.

“How’s the Channel going?”, James asked him, watching the huge black cat suspiciously.

“Good. Great. I did a few videos with Dan. And everyone seems to like it. We are getting a lot of views lately.”

“That’s awesome, dude.” Kevin took a cookie from one of the boxes they had bought at a small bakery on their way and had trouble to bring it to his mouth while holding it out of Burnt Marshmallows reach. She raised a paw and shuffled in the pocket, but there wasn’t too much space, although Kevin had made sure, it was a huge pocket when buying the apron.

“Burnt Marshmallow really grew into an absolute unit. But someone has to hold the eggs warm,” he said.

“No one let Kevin near the eggs!”, Dan said.

“So James and I help you bake the cake and we have Nogla stand at the door and not let Kevin in,” Brian said.

“I’d like to see you try.”

“With this huge thing at least Kevin can’t move that fast,” James said, watching Kevin petting Burnt Marshmallow, who glanced back hungrily.

“That’s what he said.” Brian nudged Dan.

“I told you the cats name is Burnt Marshmallow,” Kevin said calmly.

“We should start, if we want to be done before midnight,” Dan said, ignoring all of them. Kevin took a piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolded the recipe, which had had the form of a paper plane before.

“Alright, who of you feckers went to school and can therefore read?”

“That’s what my major in English is for, but it would nice if someone else could read because I have to help with the actual baking,” Dan said.

“Brian,” James and Daithi said.

“Hey! Reading has never been my strong-” Kevin held the recipe in his face.

“Okay. Fine,” Brian said as he grabbed it. The lads and Jill entered the kitchen, but Dan stayed back. He looked out of the window. Several cars were honking. The noise from the opposite side of the street was annoying. They were almost done repairing the once completely destroyed building. From the inside of the building also came loud hammering noises. And the yells of the working people trying to communicate over the sound of their machines. The outside was already mostly covered in white paint. The metaphorical scar of the street seemed to be healing. Dan turned and followed the others into the kitchen. 

~~~

The Irish lads and Jill gathered in the kitchen, which was really too small for the six of them.

“Since I’m just reading, I’ll just sit over here on the table if you don’t mind, Dan.”

“It’s okay.”

With James's help, Jill turned on the camera, he had given to her and started to film Kevin.

“Hello there, friends, how’s it going? My name is Kevin and today we are doing something a little bit different. Dan and me invited our Irish friends Jamesear, Terroriser and Daithi de Nogla for some Halloween Baking. Behind the camera is our dear friend Jill who is also Irish.”

Jill tilted the camera up and down to indicate their nodding. Then they turned to James.

“As you may know, all of us are Irish. So let me tell you about our traditions. Each Halloween we make a special bread with a lot of Irish ingredients like -” He looked at the table, where Dan had spread ingredients and utensils. “-like Irish butter and Irish whiskey.”

Then Jill moved the camera to Brian. “You can also put other Irish stuff in there like uhh. -you can bake stuff into the bread as a game of fortune-telling. When we were kids our mammy would put a coin in there, and for the person who got it, it was foretelling good luck and riches and stuff. Or like, for example, there could also be a ring indicating an impending marriage,” Brian said and then he winked at the camera. Jill rolled their eyes.

“So did you bring a ring, Kevin?”, James asked. Kevin bit his lips and focused on the floor, crossing his arms.

“No.” There was a pause and everyone looked at Dan. He turned away to clean something on the table.

“Good. This would be kinda weird,” Dan said.

“Ouch.” James and Brian laughed. Daithi just seemed a bit jealous.

“Little shit,” Kevin said under his breath but only Burnt Marshmallow heard him. Nogla continued, gesturing at Jill to film him.

“Think about how every single person in Ireland will eat this bread on Halloween. It brings us closer together as a ...family.”

“Ireland has a population of 4,930,000.” Jill said quietly. Everyone looked at them.

“This is like more people than there are in this room right now,” Daithi said.

“You are not wrong.”

“Okay, let’s move on to the ingredients. Shall we?”, Dan said and took each package and held it up into the camera for a moment, “We got the Ingredients: flour, allspice, salt, yeast, sugar, milk, Irish Whiskey, oil for oiling the bowl and pan, unsalted butter, which should be room temperature. Maybe one of you could hold it for a bit, it’s still cold.”

“Put it to Burnt Marshmallow, and we hold it warm.”

“No! Kevin!”

“I can hold it,” James said.

“Okay, I trust you a bit more than Kevin. Moving on. We got raisins and more dried currants, more milk, and more sugar. And much more Irish whiskey,” Dan continued after he had handed the butter to James.

“You can read the Instructions now, Brian.”

“Place four cups of raisins and currants in a small bowl or measuring cup.”

“Daithi, you can do that,” Dan said.

“We believe in you," Kevin added.

“Alright, alright. I’ll do my best.”

“Add the whiskey and one cup of water,” Brian read.

“Maybe we should use Irish water which would mean more whiskey.” James opened the whiskey bottle he had brought. Each of them took a sip of the whiskey before Dan poured the remaining Irish liquid over the raisins and currants.

“Soak the fruit for at least one hour or overnight,” Brian read.

“Okay, lads. See you tomorrow,” James said. “How about half an hour?”, Daithi asked.

“That could work, too,” Kevin said.

“Lads, I don’t think-”

“Okay, what are we doing in the meantime?”, James asked.

“I want to pet another cat,” Daithi said and left the kitchen. Brian followed him.

“Can they do any tricks?”, James asked.

“They can tell the future,” Kevin said. Dan gave him a look, but neither of the other two seemed to notice.

“Cool,” James said and watched Burnt Marshmallow suspiciously.

“They are the best cats ever,” Kevin said.

“I think the cats don’t like me,” James said wistfully. He reached out a hand to pet Burnt Marshmallow, but the cat hissed at him. With a frown, James stepped back and Kevin shook his head at his favourite black cat.

“You can feed them some treats and then they’ll love you. The same thing with Kevin,” Dan said.

“Dan, feed me,” Kevin said.

“Not now. Also. You already love me.” “True.”

~~~

When they got back into the kitchen, Brian sat on the table next to the ingredients. Meanwhile, they had drunk a lot more. And also gave some treats to the cats to make them like them. It had worked.

“I’ll sit with the snacks because I myself am a snack,” Brian said.

“Yes, you are, my friend,” Daithi roared.

“Where is this confidence suddenly coming from?”, James asked.

“It’s the third stage of drinking Irishly. Next stage is sitting on the garbage bin because I’m trash.” Brian said before he cleared his throat dramatically and continued reading.

“When ready to start the bread, drain the raisins reserving the liquid. Add enough water to the soaking liquid to measure 2/3 cup. Set aside the fruit and liquid.”

“I don’t understand,” Daithi said.

“Maybe we might need another bit of Irish water,” James said and opened the bottle Brian had brought.

“I get some glasses,” Kevin said.

“The recipe doesn’t say-” He stopped.

“You are making me a better person,” Kevin told Dan quietly.

“How?”, James asked, who stood behind them and had heard it.

“I drink out of glasses now,” Kevin said.

“Not now, but usually.”

“I never saw anyone make a better person out of Kevin at least occasionally. Congrats.”

“Thank you, I guess,” Dan said. Then he shook his head, while Kevin arranged the glasses.

“What’s the next step?”

“You gotta sift 6 cups of flour, a tablespoon of allspice and some salt into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Stir in one pack of yeast and four cups of sugar. -what’s an ‘Allspice’ by the way?”

“I think that’s just all spices mixed together,” Kevin said.

“Thank you. That clears that up.”

Meanwhile, Dan put everything in the stand mixer and turned it on.

Brian yelled over the sound of the mixer: “Turn the stand mixer on the lowest and I can’t stress this enough, it’s the lowest setting and add some warmed milk, water and whiskey mixture. Mix until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl, becoming slightly sticky but soft.”

“You know what else is sticky and soft?”, Kevin asked.

“No. What is it, Kevin, tell me,” Daithi said.

“Me neither. I thought you could tell me.”

“I don’t know.”

James pushed Dan to the side and looked into the mixer.

“Why does it crumble like that? Is it supposed to crumble?”

“No it should be slightly sticky but soft,” Kevin clarified again.

“Oh no, it’s four cups, not six,” Brian said.

“Oh no.” Dan looked around to find something to save the dough.

“Terroriser can’t read,” Daithi yelled.

“Get his ass!!” James yelled. Behind the camera Jill chuckled while filming the others arguing loudly, their accents getting worse.

“No, lads, please stop that. You are tearing this family apart,” Dan said, laughing.

“Who died and left you being in charge. You are not my mammy,” Brian said, still hiding behind the recipe.

“I can be a good mammy too," Kevin said, trying to deescalate the situation. He took a spoon full of raisins and shoved it into Dan's mouth.

“Swallow, there are people starving in Africa,” Kevin said, imitating the voice of his mother.

“That’s what I hear every night,” Dan said, with a sideglance to Daithi, who tried very hard not to look jealous. James coughed to hide a laugh.

“Every night?”, Brian asked under his breath. James coughed more violently. Kevin had another joke at the tip of his tongue but then he decided to not cross that line. Instead, he made noises that were supposed to sound like a train. And with a “WHEOW”, he gave Dan another spoon full of raisins.

“Thanks, Kevin,” Dan said, holding a hand in front of his mouth. Brian almost fell down the table, laughing, while Jill had problems not to shake the camera too much.

“Since no one else is getting fed, we might as well keep going. Brian, what’s next?”, James asked.

“Put the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until it has doubled in size,” Brian read loudly.

“Where is the oil? Let’s get oily.”

“Kevin, no! James, you do that.”

“Okay. Okay.” James did the last step.

“I admire your parenting skills. How well does everything usually works with Kevin being... Kevin?”, Brian asked.

“Well, Kevin’s loyal and ...brave, but also- resentful and well... He’s a Scorpio.”

“Yes, Dan. Blame the stars,” Brian said.

Then James gestured for Jill to film Dan and Kevin.

“Aw, they are holding hands, while cooking. Relationship goals,” James said.

“We are holding hands so Kevin won’t touch anything.”

“Now I feel obligated to hold Noglas hands,” Brian said, sliding down from the table to grab Daithi's hands and Jill focused on them.

“Yeah, hold my hands, lad.”

“Nogla, why are they so soft?”

“I’m moisturizing.”

“This is nice” He gently stroked his hand with his thumb.

“I feel lonely,” James said and looked directly at the camera.

“When Martha comes back, she can hold your hand,” Jill said behind the camera. Then they left the kitchen and moved two tables together and sat down, while Dan got them something warm to drink and a few cookies.

“I wanted a coffee,” Brian said, looking at his cup of steaming hot chocolate in confusion. Dan looked him right in the eyes.

“I decide what you drink now.”

“But-”

“When you come into my café I become judge, jury and executioner.”

The lads laughed.

They sat and talked for a while until Brian looked at his watch and said: “That was about an hour.”

~~~

“You have to turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead lightly and sensually for one minute,” Brian said with a cheeky grin.

“Brian you are holding the recipe the wrong way,” Kevin said.

“I knew it. I knew we couldn’t trust you!”, Daithi yelled. James started kneading the dough and made grunting noises, while Dan crossed his arms. Jill zoomed in on the dough.

“Add a cup of butter and soaked fruit and work them in until they are completely incorporated. I don’t know, guys. ‘Incorporated doesn’t sound like a good word... But after that, you have to return the dough to the oiled bowl and cover it with a plastic wrap. Then we have to allow the bread to rise again - for about 30 minutes.”

Everyone groaned at that. Kevin moved past Dan to get to the other side of the table to hand him the ingredients, while Daithi leaned over Brian's shoulder to read the recipe himself.

“Jill, zoom in on the flour handprints on Dans’...,” James whispered. Jill looked down and had to stifle a laugh.

“Looking at the size, these handprints are from Kevin and not his own.”

“It’s funny either way.” 

~~~

“Can someone else read, please?”, Brian asked, when the time was over.

“No, you are doing great, sweety,” Daithi said and took another sip of his glass. Brian started to look more blurry to him.

“Okay, fine. Next, we have to grease a 10” spring-form or cake pan. Form the dough into a circle and press into the prepared pan. “

“Would you want to form the cake together with me, Kevin?”, Daithi asked.

“You form the dough, I grease the pan.”

“Wait, no, take the springform”, Dan said and stood between Kevin and Daithi. Dan held the pan, while Kevin greased it. Meanwhile, Daithi slapped the dough and made dough slapping noises, which made all of them giggle but also a bit annoyed. Jill zoomed in on Brian eating a few raisins and then on James pouring six new glasses of whiskey. James offered Jill one but they shook the camera indicating a ‘No, I’m too young.' So Brian took their glass as well, and continued reading, between occasional sips from both glasses.

“Oh no. First, we have to cover it and let the dough rest in a warm place until it has risen again, for about another 1 fucking hour.”

“What are we going to do in an hour?”, Daithi asked quietly.

“You could help me clean this mess.”

“Or..... We could not do that,” Brian said.

“Let’s just talk a little. You know. How are you lads doing?”, James said. Everyone was quiet and didn’t look at each other. Kevin took this opportunity and started talking.

“This reminds me of the time I got hit by a car. I got hit by a car, then. Did you know that?” Everyone laughed and together they left the kitchen. James managed to pick up Rose who had started to have sympathy for him. Daithi picked up the grey striped cat from before again and Brian helped them to take some photos for Instagram.

Meanwhile, Dan sat down next to Kevin at the table. “How’s it going, man?” They grinned at each other.

“I wanted to make some marmalade sandwiches, but I can’t open the jar,” Dan said.

“Ok, my sweety pie,” Kevin said and took the jar from him. Their fingers brushed.

“Thank you!”, Dan said. He took his hand and pulled him into a soft kiss, careful, not to squish Burnt Marshmallow between them.

“Let me open this jar for you with my manly hands,” Kevin said and Dan giggled. James stood next to Jill as they zoomed in on Kevin and Dan.

“‘Love’ is a guy pretending to not be able to open a jar, and his boyfriend opening it for him, fully aware the first one could do it himself, but pretending not to,” he narrated dramatically. Jill giggled.

“SPIDER!”, Brian suddenly yelled. Before Kevin could react, Dan was already hiding in the backroom.

“Where?”, James asked.

“On the table.” Kevin calmly picked the tiny black spider up and brought it outside, before going to the backroom to comfort Dan. The spider was as confused as everyone else, but it appreciated its new won freedom. After some convincing, Dan followed him back to the others and they sat back down at the table. He avoided eye contact, being a bit embarrassed.

“Are you okay?”, Daithi asked.

“Yes. I’m okay,” Dan nodded bravely.

“We should go back to baking that cake.” He said jumping back to his feet, where he stayed, frozen. He watched the others go back to the kitchen, chatting with each other, and only Kevin stayed right by his side...

When no one was looking, Kevin left a quick and soundless kiss on his hair, before taking his hand, pulling Dan with him as he followed the rest of them.

“Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Brush the top of the loaf with milk and sprinkle with about 1 tablespoon sugar,” Brian read.

“Daithi, do you think you can do that?”, Dan asked.

“Yeah. I’m ready to sprinkle.” The whole table shook when Brian tried to get into a more comfortable sitting position.

“Nice sprinkling, dude. Next, we have to bake for 15 minutes then cover it with foil. Lower the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another damn fucking hour or until golden brown and it sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.” They did as they were told and then continued hanging around in the kitchen, finally helping to clean the room.

“This recipe is absolute shite,” James said, after checking the time on his phone for the probably hundredth time. Dan brought them some cocktails to lighten the mood again. Then he made sandwiches for everyone. Daithi fumbled with the biodegradable straw.

“Do you want friendship bracelets?”, he asked Kevin. “

We already have friendship bracelets,” Kevin said.

“Friendship bracelets but they are handcuffs,” Dan said.

“You know Kevin loves you,” James said quietly, after he had pulled him to the side.

“I know,” Dan said. He sounded unhappy.

Across the tiny room, Kevin locked eyes with Dan. He walked over to him, pushing Nogla out of the way and before he could say anything, he took his hand and pulled him out of the kitchen, without the others noticing because Nogla was hitting Terroriser with a spoon, while James gave Jill tips on how to film them better.

“There is no need to be jealous,” Kevin said and crossed his arms.

“I’m not jealous,” Dan said and leaned against the wall.

“Fecking liar,” Kevin said, stepping impossibly closer.

“I’m not-”

“You know, we’ll be alright and I love you no matter what.”

“I’m not jealous. I’m - I guess. I’m proud that you are my boyfriend and not theirs? ...I’m sorry. I trust you with my life, Kevin. It’s just. I don’t even know. I want you for myself. Don’t say anything. I know it’s not super healthy, but... I- I’m working on it. Okay?”

“Fecker,” Kevin smiled and shook his head. Dan leaned over in a weird angle to not squish Burnt Marshmallow between them and kissed him. Then Kevin took Burnt Marshmallow out of the pocket of his apron, who wasn’t happy about it, and sat her on the floor, so he could hug Dan properly. Dan leaned his head against his chest and when he looked up again, to meet his eyes, Kevin kissed him again.

“Just. Don’t worry. Okay, Dan?”

“I worry all the time, but not for this reason. Kevin, give me the lighter, I know exactly that you took it again.” Dan held a hand out, but Kevin shook his head stepping back with a shit-eating grin, but when Dan crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, Kevin reached into his trousers pocket and gave it back. And when their hands touched Dan pulled him into another kiss.

“I love you, cupcake.”

“I love you, too.” When they came back into the kitchen, they heard Brian yell.

“This is irl cyberbullying.” They didn’t hear Burnt Marshmallow scratching at the door who wanted to be let back in.

“Everyone stop it. Brian, what’s the next step?”, Dan said.

“Transfer to a rack and cool,” Brian read. Everyone watched Dan transfer the bread to the rack. Then they started clapping and shouting.

“We did it, lads,” Dan yelled.

“Serve sliced spread with Irish butter,” shouted over the noise.

“Aaaaand the battery is empty.” , Jill said.

“Have we bought new ones this morning?”, Dan asked Kevin.

“I don’t think so.”

“We could do some decorating and then call it a day.” They shrugged and Jill turned the camera off before they left the kitchen to get their stuff, to finally go home. Then they poured some of the remaining Irish whiskey over the Halloween bread. And then a bit more. Someone had brought birthday candles, but no one would admit who it was.

“Dan, I’m hungry,” Kevin said. He stood right in front of him and grinned mischievously.

“Here you go, Kevin,” Dan said, and fed him some of the leftover raisins. They smiled at each other, ignoring the others. Until.

“DAN, THE CAKE IS ON FIRE,” James suddenly yelled.

Then everything happened really fast. Brian stopped Daithi from trying to quench the fire with the rest of the Irish whiskey, while Kevin threw a towel into the flames, which caught fire immediately. James screamed in a high pitched voice, hiding behind Brian who drank the rest of the Irish whiskey. The smoke detector beeped mercilessly in the background. Dan ran in a circle, unsure where he put the fire extinguisher the last time. Jill walked back in, alarmed by the shouting and slowly back out again. Then they came back in to film everything with their phone. They managed to put the fire out with water, destroying the bread completely. There was a minute of silence. Burnt Marshmallow managed to enter the kitchen pushing Jill to the side, who stood in the open door, laughing hysterically. The cat jumped on the table and licked Kevin's hands as he tried to remove her from the table.

“This was Brians’ fault,” Daithi accused his friend.

“I’m gonna kneecap you,” Brian said.

“Not if I eat your kneecaps first,” Daithi replied.

“I’m sorry we fucked up like that,” James said.

“It’s okay. It was great fun,” Dan said calmly. He smiled. Kevin feared a breakdown and wrapped an arm around him protectively.

“I don’t think you understand measurements,” Daithi told Brian softly.

“Your mom doesn’t understand measurements,” Brian replied a bit aggressively. Dan and Kevin shared a look, while Jill giggled quietly to themself. Then there was a tension-filled pause. Daithi stared at him unhappily and Brian opened his mouth to apologise but then he decided otherwise. They packed their things and the empty bottles quietly after that.

When they stood at the door, Dan asked: “Will you come to the Halloween party anyway, tomorrow?”

“Yes, of course. But someone has to buy new Halloween bread,” James answered.

“Who fecked up in the first place anyway?”, Kevin asked.

“In our defence: you left us unsupervised,” Brian said.

“Okay, see you tomorrow, lads,” Daithi said quickly and yawned loudly, while he put an arm around Brian, hoping he wouldn’t notice. Brian didn’t notice. Or he didn’t mind. Dan leaned against Kevin as they watched them leave. Kevin planted a small kiss on his hair when the door closed.

“We should clean the rest of the café and go home as well.”

“Yeah.”

Neither of them moved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all: please drink responsibly. 
> 
> Secondly: To the person I private-messaged on Twitter: I know you are here and I'm judging you.
> 
>   
> Thirdly: Don't try this recipe from the chapter. I took a basic one and then changed a few things and made some things up.  
> It didn't work for the lads and it won't work for you. XD
> 
> But if you manage to bake irish halloween bread with an actual recipe, please send a piece over here.
> 
> Anyway. Next chapter should be up soon. 
> 
> Tell me what you think.
> 
> Edit: By the way: You can still guess the surprise tool, although it's now a bit more obvious.  
> Solution in the next chapter (this time for real)
> 
> Edit 26.01.21  
> The Irish lads now has a secret sixth member James.


	22. The surprise tool

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the lovely comments!
> 
> I haven't replied to them yet, because Ao3 is having issues with the E-Mails.  
> As soon as everything is working properly again, I'm going to reply.  
> But please know that all of them mean very much to me.  
> And I'm glad to be part of such a lovely fandom.
> 
> Please stay nice, everyone.

  
After their friends had left, Kevin suddenly just hugged Dan. It surprised him a bit, but then he cuddled against him and just enjoyed it. They leaned into each other and sighed.

“We should really start cleaning.”

“Okay, Honey Buns,” Kevin said and kissed his cheek. Dan rolled his eyes at him. They stood in front of the window for a moment longer and looked outside. The place across the street was now quiet again.  
Almost peaceful.  
Almost. They stared at the building. The building stared back with empty black eyes.

~~~

Quietly singing, Kevin cleaned dust and cat hair underneath the tables, while Dan fed the cats. Then Kevin gave his best to clean the floor in the kitchen, which was not easy at all, while Dan emptied the dishwasher. From time to time they would glance at each other and smile like the idiots in love they were. Suddenly Kevin heard him take in a sharp breath. He turned around.

“You are bleeding,” Kevin said quietly, when he took a closer look because he noticed how Dan was frozen with something like maybe fear. He took his hand and inspected his index finger. The cut was almost invisible. Dan pulled his hand away.

“Are you okay?”, Kevin asked, stepping back. Dan put the finger in his mouth to stop the bleeding. He wanted to reach out for Dan, but there was something in his eyes that scared Kevin. It suddenly was eerily silent. Dan stared at the knife that had cut him and Kevin stared at Dan. There was the tiniest drip of blood on it. Kevin slowly moved closer again and took the knife from him. When he touched his shoulder, Dan looked like he had just woken up and gave Kevin a warm smile after taking his finger out of his mouth. Then he continued to put plates back into the cupboards like nothing had happened.

~~~

They held hands on their walk home. Almost no one was in the streets. There was a small hint of smoke in the air which caused Dan to tense. He imagined his lungs burning. This was different from the cake that had been on fire earlier. He was used to Kevin setting food on fire. Close by there was a burning building and they heard sirens coming closer until the frequency changed. The sounds and this particular smell reminded him of the burning building on the other side of the street and the fear. Burning wood and plastic. And the sirens. Suddenly he tasted salt.

Before his inner eye he saw Kevin on the ground, covered in blood, surrounded by grass and flowers. Everything was red and grey. He reached out for him, tears forming- But Kevin was well and alive next to him and when he felt him shuddering next to him, he wrapped an arm around his waist and tried to keep him warm. Dan appreciated the warmth from Kevin, but the sudden coldness inside of him stayed. They shared a look and he knew that Kevin knew. But neither of them would say anything.

~~~

  
Back at home, Dan went straight to the computer to check what had happened. Meanwhile, Kevin went to the bathroom. With a soft smile, he stood in front of the washing machine. Looking at it always reminded him of his first time and Dan sitting there in front of him, hands in his hair, calling his name so loudly that neighbours weren’t able to make eye contact ever since. Which was a good thing more or less. He didn’t like the neighbours. But that wasn’t what he wanted to think about. He was holding the not very clean apron, he had worn this day, in his arms. There was a lot of flour and burn marks and cat hair on it. In the front apron pocket and underneath Burnt Marshmallow for most of the time, there had been a small box. Alone in the bathroom, Kevin opened the box and stared at the ring for a moment. The surprise tool, he had hoped to use earlier that day, glittered in the dim light. He imagined how it would look like on Dan's hand. How he would first smile at him and then his eyes would fill with tears. How he would shake his head and give the ring back.

How he would pack his things and leave. Kevin felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. Where were these thoughts coming from? Dan wouldn’t just leave him, right? Not after everything they had been through, together. But maybe this wasn’t the right way to handle the situation. Maybe it would have been a bad idea, to propose via Halloween bread. And Dan hadn’t really appeared like he would have liked it. Maybe it was better this way. Maybe things were going too fast. Maybe he wasn’t ready. Maybe neither of them were. The ring weight was heavy in his hands. He snapped the box shut. Then he hid it in the pullovers pocket when he heard steps approaching.

“What are you doing?”

“Laundry,” Kevin said and quickly put the apron in the washing machine.

“Is something wrong?”

“Doing the laundry is boring, but it also makes me horny.” Dan chuckled, thinking of exactly the same thing like Kevin had earlier. Then he stood close, wrapped his arms around his neck and gave him a long kiss. Even when they had to gasp for air, they still held each other close.

“Today was ...something,” Dan said after the kiss ended, then he took his hand and lead Kevin back to the bedroom. Kevin put the pullover on the chair on top of a bunch of other clothes and threw his shirt on the floor where he had picked it up in the morning, while Dan leaned against the window frame after he had looked outside, crossing his arms.

“Sometimes you remind me of these guys from these terribly written novels. You are absolutely gorgeous, overprotective and you don’t like wearing your shirt,” Dan said seductively.

“In my defence since you are in charge of the heating, it’s much to warm in here. The Irish like it cold, but you wouldn’t understand, because you are not as Irish as me.”

“And you always act like you are such a ... But really you are so soft. Like the hero in the book, I’m reading right now. ‘Falling in love with a bad boy’.”

“What happened to Catcher ....in the nineteen eighty-four?”

Dan laughed. “You are in no position to judge me. What was the last book that made you cry?” Kevin paused and then grinned. “Fourth-grade algebra.” But Dan wasn’t even listening anymore. He was looking at his chest while biting his lips.

“I think I haven’t held you often enough, today,” Kevin said softly as he noticed where Dan was looking.

“Cheesy fucker,” Dan said but then he hugged him and they shared a comfortable silence.

“Let me tell you a secre,” Kevin whispered after a while of them just holding each other, eyes closed.

“What have you done, Kevin?” Dan leaned back to look him in the eyes.

“You can’t just assume this is a bad thing.”

“I’m .... Yes, I’ll just assume.”

“That’s rude.”

“You think you can get away with everything because you are cute.”

“Awww. You think I’m cute?” Dan just chuckled. Then he reached behind him and hit him with the pillow but in a loving way. Kevin cleared his throat dramatically.

“Anyway. What I wanted to say. I know for a fact that Daithi was only hitting on me because he wanted to get a reaction out of Brian.”

“I wonder when Daithi will realise that Brian has a crush on him,” Dan said.

“No, I think it’s the other way around.” They shared a look and then they laughed.

“We should tell them about that conversation thingie.”

“No, they will figure it out themselves.” Dan sat down on the bed and played with his phone while Kevin stumbled through the room, looking for something on the floor.

“I wonder if Lauren and Noemi have had the same conversation at some point.” They laughed.

“I’m so tired. Tomorrow my muscles will actually feel sore.”

“Drift Daddy is over I’m calling you grandpa, now,” Kevin said and picked a PS2 game up from the floor and put it down on the other side of the room, but also on the floor.

“You are older than me. And you complained about your legs hurting all the way back here.”

“I’m allowed to complain. I got not only hit by a car but I also got shot once.”

“But not in the legs,” Dan said and looked up from his phone. They stared at each other. Then they laughed again.

“We are both tired but there is no need to get passive-aggressive.”

“You are right. I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry, too.” They were quiet again for a while. Dan put his mobile phone on the nightstand and Kevin gave up searching the floor because he had forgotten what he had been searching for in the first place.

“Don’t forget your diary,” Kevin said as he sat down on his side of the bed. “It’s not a diary it’s a journal,” Dan said as he took the small notebook out of the nightstand drawer.

“What are your three points for today?” They had the exact same conversation every evening before bedtime, the past few months. Right after the incident at the cliff, Dan had started to have these moments. These moments when something just seemed slightly off. And Kevin had started to watch psychology YouTube videos. It was hard to get a therapist so they needed to try some other things until Dan could get one. He had started to show symptoms of mild PTSD. At least that was what Kevin had learned from the internet. Mild, but PTSD nonetheless. He had looked into the symptoms, which were depression, fear, anger, anxiety, isolation and sadness. He had made a list and tried to consider all the points.

1\. Contact a resource.

2\. Consider seeing a psychiatrist

3\. Talk to a therapist

4\. Support group

5\. Breathing exercises

6\. Write out your thoughts

7\. Practice regular self-care

8\. Be open with those who are close to you.

Kevin tried to be sneaky with trying to help Dan, but he knew anyway. And it melted Dan's heart a little although he was sure he was fine. After Dan couldn’t get an appointment anywhere, Kevin had started to look into methods on how to fight depression, because that seemed to him as the biggest threat. He wasn’t entirely sure if Dan had ever been sad for more than two weeks because most of the time he seemed to be pretty good at hiding it. Trying to treat it anyway seemed like a good thing to him. One method that helps fight depression is to write down three things that made one happy each and every day. This could be all sorts of things. Small moments or something to look forward to. So far it seemed to be helping. Although on some rare days it was hard to find anything.

“You saved me from a spider. We didn’t burn down the café. ....and I ate the right amount of food for an adult, today?”, Dan said. “You also managed to go grocery shopping with me. And it’s not easy to go grocery shopping with me.”

“That’s true.”

“Hmm, what else do you think was nice today?”, Dan asked. In his opinion, Kevin should be more likely than him to suffer from the negative consequences of what happened at the cliff since he had been the one being shot. Against his expectations, Kevin hadn’t shown symptoms of being even the slightest bit stressed. Dan didn’t know if it was good to handle the situation with humour as Kevin did. He had heard many times that it wasn’t. That you shouldn’t make jokes like that, because at some point you would feel more down than ever.

However, Kevin seemed to be an exception.

“Spending time with you while grocery shopping and baking -and also spending some time with the other lads and Jill,” Kevin said.

“Awww.” There could have been another even better thing, Kevin thought. Although after the cake had burned like that, he was glad that he hadn’t put the expensive ring in there. But it would have been ‘weird’ anyway. Right? Dan put the book back on his nightstand. Then he wrapped an arm around Kevin's waist and laid his head on his chest. Kevin started to play with his hair lazily like he did every time, he had a chance like that. His heart got a bit later. They were save and they were together. And that was the most important thing. Dan sighed and closed his eyes. This was nice. But he couldn’t really find peace right now. Why had Kevin said ‘no’ like that? Would it have been really that absurd? He didn’t know if he was even ready to get engaged or even married, but a small part of him was genuinely disappointed.

“Remember when you told the lads about what we do ‘every night’...?”, Kevin asked and started to spread small tender kisses on his shoulders and his neck. “How are you not too tired?”, Dan asked quietly, his eyes still closed.

“I am too tired. But we’ll have to do it twice tomorrow, then,” Kevin said and let himself fall back onto the pillow.

“Why?”

“Because you shouldn’t lie to our friends.”

Dan laughed at Kevin's upset tone and playfully shoved him to the side.

“Steal the blanket again and I put my cold feet on you, Kevin,” he whispered.

“You can also put them here before they get cold and I keep them warm.” The blanket rustled. “Ooof. How are they already so cold?”

Dan didn’t answer and they were quiet for a while again.

“Are you asleep?”, Kevin suddenly whispered close to his ear.

“Huh?”

“Good night.”

“Sleep tight.”

“I love you, Dan.”

“I love you more.”

“Fecking liar.” He kissed his hair and this was one of the moments Dan felt really happy and he couldn’t wait to wake up next to Kevin in the morning.  
They fell asleep with smiles on their faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe you haven't killed anyone, but there can be other things causing depression and sometimes you have it for no reason at all. I'm telling you this because only of we talk about it we can normalize ...talking about it. I've been through some really dark times. And one thing that really helped (besides cutting out toxic friends among other things) was doing the journal thing. And especially in the time we are living in, now it's important to take some time to think about the good things in life that make you happy and you look forward to. It can be small things like 'I finished my stupid homework'. Or 'I petted a cat' or 'I look forward to the next stream' It doesn't take much time to get on your phone in the evening and write down three things that make you happy. Just wanted to share this, because I know that some of you are struggling with depression and it's not easy to get help. May it be that you can't get a therapist because the waiting list is too long. Or your parents think it's just a phase and won't help you. Or you are too afraid to seek for the help you deserve. Or other reasons. Writing a diary obviously doesn't replace going to therapy. But the point is that you have to keep trying and never give up. Letting your sadness out is only good for a certain amount of time. You also have to think of and surround you by positivity from time to time. Now, please take a moment to write down somewhere three things that made you happy today. Simple things. It's easy to make a habit out of it, after repeating something for a week mostly at the same time. Everyone stay safe. And know, that it will get better. ...after actually being serious for once I feel the need to tell a fart joke. But. Let's just leave it here.


	23. The Halloween Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge thank you to Meerlicht and Yeeteroffeckers for helping me pick the costumes!
> 
> Also just to remind everyone:  
> This is in no way intended to harm anyone, so please don't try to shove it into anyones' face who might make it uncomfortable.  
> And it might be wise not to talk about this corner of the internet in general on any social media.

“Come on, Dan. Just the ears and the collar.” 

“No!” 

They stood in front of the mirror in the bedroom, between all the shirts Dan wanted to wear instead. Now he was wearing a black one, that was just a tiny bit too small.

“Pretty please. I’ll do the laundry and the dishes for the rest of the week,” Kevin pouted at him as he lowered the plastic cat ears.

“Today is Saturday…- you know what? Fine.” Dan huffed.

He put on the cat ears, the collar and the pullover with the black synthetic fur. 

“Are you happy, now, Kevin?” 

“Yes, but it turns out, I’m also a furry.” 

Kevin had a shite eating grin on his face as he took some photos with his phone. Dan posed for them with a smile, but his eyes said ‘you are going to regret this.‘

“And what are you?”, Dan asked.

“I’m a pumpkin,” Kevin replied and his grin widened.

“You can’t just wear an orange shirt and say you are a pumpkin. You don’t have the form-”

“I’m a sexy pumpkin.”

Dan laughed. “Yes, you are.” 

Then Kevin kissed him passionately, picking him up from the ground in the process. Dan wrapped his legs around Kevin's waist, as he held him and kissed him again.

“What was that for?”, Dan asked, completely out of breath after the kiss had ended. 

Kevin let him to the floor again, with a mischievous smile.

“This was your last kiss for today because I’m going to draw whiskers on your face. And we want them to look nice for the rest of the day -and the night.”

“What.”

“Don’t be so needy. You’ll be fine. It’s just a day.”

“I’m not needy. I just don’t want whiskers.”

“But a cat needs whiskers.”

“I want a divorce.”

Dan didn’t notice how Kevin froze, because he now stood with his back towards him, looking for the sharpie he had bought specifically for this occasion.

“No kisses for you today, regardless of whiskers,“ Kevin said a tad too cold. His hands shook a bit when he closed the drawer. Dan hugged him from behind, not noticing that something had changed and kissed his cheek before he took the sharpie from him. Kevin relaxed again under his touch.

“I’ll have whiskers if you have whiskers as well,“ Dan said.

“I’m a pumpkin. Why should I have whiskers?”

“It’s either both of us or neither of us. Sorry, I don’t make the rules.”

“You literally just made the rules.”

They stared at each other, both with their arms crossed.

“Kevin, no. Puppy eyes won’t help you out of this.”

“Fecking hell. …okay. You draw mine first,” Kevin said, before he sat down on the kitchen chair, so Dan could draw the whiskers more comfortably.

Dan kissed his nose before he cupped his cheek to steady his face and started drawing.

After he was finished, he gave the sharpie to Kevin and sat down in his lap. Kevin started drawing with more concentration, he had ever seen him have.

Dan giggled. 

“Shhh. hold still.”

“Ohh, god, we are going to look-”

“You look amazing,“ Kevin said and there was a lot of love and admiration in his voice.

“You, too.”

They leaned in close and then they stopped.

“Oh feck, I forgot.”

Dan laughed. “Do you already regret all your life decisions?”

“Only the whiskers,” he replied and Dan stopped laughing.

They looked at each other. Dan still smiled, while Kevin got serious again.

“You are the best thing that ever happened to me. You know that right?”, Kevin asked.

“Kevin, I really want to kiss you.“

“I already hate the whiskers.”

They intertwined their fingers for a moment. Then Kevin took Dan's hand and kissed it very carefully, just touching it with his lips.

  
“This is almost better.”

“Almost.”

Dan finally caught a glance of the clock on the wall behind Kevin. “Oh no. We are going to be so late again.”

“It’s fine. Jill will open the cafe.”

But Dan already hurried to get their jackets.

Jill would usually open the cat cafe on their own, but they would smirk at them knowingly as soon as they arrived because it was often abundantly clear why the two lovebirds were late. 

And this time it wasn’t any different.

  
~~~

  
When they arrived at the cafe, Jill already had cleaned up and now was arranging some Halloween decorations.

Dan helped them with the skeletons, while Kevin got rid of the spiders. Then Kevin, who had for some reason got excited about all those bones, insisted on giving every skeleton a name. “This is Bony one, this is Bony two, this is Bony three, this is Zach and this is Bony five.”

“Well done, Kevin,” Dan said and put on some music. Nothing too loud, so it wouldn’t annoy the cats.

“Thank you.”

They leaned close to each other again before they had to stop themselves.

  
“Feck. I forgot again. I hate those fecking whiskers.”

“You know, we could just wash our faces.”

“But you look so adorable with them.”

“Then stop complaining.”

“No.” Kevin crossed his arms, pouting, which made Dan laugh again.

  
~~~

  
Brian was the first one to arrive. It was still quite early in the morning. 

He wore a silver-painted box around his waist and he looked somehow lost.

“Hey, Brian, -you good?”

“Yeah. sure.”

“Wanna help us carve some pumpkins?”

“Sure.”

They sat down together and started carving in silence.

  
“Dan, you are good with feelings and stuff, right? What is the secret to making someone happy?”, Brian asked out of nowhere.

“Be kind and respectful.”

“Wow. Thanks, Dan.” He rolled his eyes unhappily.

“What do you want to hear from me?” Dan stopped carving his pumpkin, put the knife aside and gave him his full attention.

“Maybe something that helps me with someone else,” Brian said slowly.

“Dan, I think he wants relationship advice,” Kevin nudged him with a chuckle. His pumpkin already had a bright smile and one eye.

“The most important thing is to be able to spend time with the people you love. Just give them time. Build a relationship on the foundation of support, kindness, admiration and- “, Dan stopped as he noticed how uneasy his friend looked. “Is there something you want to tell us, Brian?”

“What is the point in going on?”, Brian asked, very suddenly. And then he immediately felt ashamed for asking.

Dan took a deep breath and said softly. “The point is to try. Try to be better than you were yesterday. Try to be happy and enjoy life, while also letting others enjoy their lives. Just making the world a better place for everyone...”

“You say that like it would be the easiest thing in the world.”

He went silent when Lauren entered the cafe and they put two smiling and one sad pumpkin away.

  
“Hey, there, friend. How’s it going?”, Kevin asked after a sip of his self mixed Halloween punch. ‘There is no such thing as Halloween punch‘, Dan had said. Well, now there was.

“Hey! Take a guess what I am,” Lauren yelled enthusiastically and made a pirouette.

“You are a time traveller. Because today’s not fucking St. Paddy's day,” Brian said under his breath.

“Leprechaun would also have been correct, but you know what? 100 points to you,” Lauren said cheerfully.

“I wanna drink whatever she had,” Brian said.

“Sorry, Lauren is just like that,” Dan said, before he left to get some more glasses out of the dishwasher.

“Damn it.“

  
~~~

  
When James entered, they couldn’t help but laugh.

He was very blue in the face. Also, he had a blue shirt and blue leggings as well as some sport shoes.

“Aww, are you Papa Smurf?”

“No! I’m Sonic.” James sighed before he had to crouch on the floor and say ‘hello‘ to his favourite cats.

Meanwhile, Dan had to help Jill with the orders, because now there were more people entering the cafe.

The cats were surprisingly fine with the many different people in strange costumes that slowly started to enter.

  
~~~

  
“You are the guy from Detroit become human?”, James asked Brian, when the small group of friends assembled around the bowl of Kevins Halloween punch again.

“No. I’m Wall-E”

“Okay, this is actually cute,” Lauren said.

“Where is Daithi?“, Kevin asked and everyone ignored the undertone in his voice.

“He should be here soon. He wanted to buy some Halloween bread, although I told him, I wanted to. And now I see Papa Smurf brought bread as well.”

“Noemi might bring some as well,” Lauren said.

“Martha wanted to be here soon. What is she bringing?”, Kevin asked.

“Sweets and booze,” Martha said behind him. She dumped everything in a heap on the table next to the punch and then left to join a group of her elderly friends from the retirement home. Her friends cheered loudly when they saw her approaching.

Then Noemi entered with a bunch of children. One of them was probably Emma. They immediately spread all across the cafe to play with the cats. The cats were delighted because some had brought cat treats. They were less delighted when they found out, Noemi had bought the really healthy ones.

“I’m Spiderman,“ a small Spiderman said. Kevin assumed this was Emma.

“Seems like I’ll have to give you some sweets then, for protecting the city,” James said.

Small Spiderman thanked him politely and then ran off to the rest of her friends.

“I’m a pumpkin, can I get some sweets as well?”, Kevin asked James. He had been hungry for a while.

“You don’t-”

“I’m a sexy pumpkin. With whiskers.”

“Don’t call yourself a sexy pumpkin as long as you are not wearing at least a crop top,” James said.

“Well, when you are tall enough, every shirt becomes a crop top.”

“Then let’s hope, you’ll grow a little more,” Brian said.

James took another sip from his punch before he refilled his glass.

“Maybe you should slow down a bit,” Kevin said.

“I’m fine.”

  
Later Laurens wife, who kinda looked like she always did, approached them to get some Halloween punch.

Lauren and Noemi kissed, before talking quietly for a moment and then Lauren left the small group to watch the children, together with Dan.

“Noemi, what are you?”, Kevin asked.

“Lise Meitner.”

“Who’s that?”, Brian asked.

Noemi took a deep breath and started talking without taking another breath even once. “She was a German-Swedish physicist specialised in radioactivity and nuclear physics, who together with a colleague, the German chemist Otto Hahn, led a group of scientists who first discovered the nuclear fission of uranium and this fission process, which splits the atomic nucleus of uranium to release an enormous amount of energy, was the basis for the nuclear weapons developed by the U.S. in World War II and also she was the first woman to be appointed full Professor of Physics in Germany before she was forced to flee to Sweden because of the war and the 1944 Nobel Prize for Chemistry sadly was solely awarded to her colleague Otto Hahn, which was so unfair. I chose her because people always only know Marie Curie. But there are so many other female physicists that never get the recognition they deserve. Like Maria Goeppert-Mayer, Ruby Payne-Scott or Rosalind Franklin.”

Kevin nodded like he had understood every word she’d just said. “Wow, that’s really cool.”

“Thank you. Last year I was Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell.”

Kevin sat down on the closest chair and took another sip of the punch. “Tell us more about her,” James said after also taking another sip of his punch. He had already drunk quite a bit.

“She is an astrophysicist from Northern Ireland, who co-discovered the first radio pulsars-”

“Ireland?” Kevin's eyes lit up. 

“…but what are radio pulsars?”, James asked slowly.

“Those are highly magnetised neutron stars or white dwarfs.”

“Ah, yes. white dwarfs are my favourite,” Brian said. The others nodded with very serious faces.

“Anyway. All this happened while she still was a graduate student in 1967. Bell Burnell was the first to observe and precisely analyse the pulsars, which have been used to confirm the existence of gravitational radiation, a phenomenon of general relativity.”

“General relativity. …Isn’t that the Einstein thingy?”, James asked to be polite.

Noemi nodded excitedly. “It is. The discovery was credited with the 1974 Nobel Prize in Physics, but Bell Burnell was excluded from the recipients. She later served as president of the Royal Astronomical Society and the Institute of Physics. Which is really cool. But she is still alive and I kinda got into trouble for impersonating her at the Halloween party at our institute last year.” With her last words, she got really quiet.

“And Lise won’t get mad at you?”, Kevin asked.

“No, I’m sure she’d appreciate me telling everyone I know about her. Also, she died in 1968. Anyway- what is your costume, Kevin?”

“I’m a sexy pumpkin with whiskers.”

Noemi nodded. “Now I see it, too. …And you two are Sonic and Wall-E.”

“YES!”, they both yelled and high fived -very excited, that someone had recognized them.

  
~~~

  
“By the way -how do you guys like the Halloween Punch?”, Kevin asked after a while of them just chatting about nothing particular.

“It’s like licking plastic but in a good way,” James said.

“Great. That was the taste I was going for.”

“This Punch is a war crime,” Brian said.

“Time for one of Kevin’s Lifetip: Commit a worse crime to cover another crime,” Kevin said.

“What’s the playlist called,” Lauren asked to distract from the Punch.

“Chill beats to die to.” 

Suddenly Dan stood next to Kevin again. “Follow me, sexy pumpkin.“

“I like this new nickname. Can I keep it?”

Dan just laughed and Kevin followed him into the back room, where they could be alone for a bit. They ignored the way, their friends grinned at each other.

Right after the door was closed, they leaned in to kiss each other but stopped in the last moment.

“Feck,” Kevin said.

“This is getting increasingly more difficult,” Dan said.

Then Kevin just hugged him carefully.

“Also my cat ears are so uncomfortable,” Dan complained.

Kevin laughed and then he took the cat ears from Dan and put them in his own hair. “Now I’m a sexy pumpkin with whiskers and cat ears.”

“Wouldn’t be easier to just be an orange cat?”

“But I wanna be a pumpkin.”

Dan laughed and in his mind, he cursed those whiskers and the damn cheap sharpie.

  
“Let’s go back to the others before they burn the cafe down.”

“As long as you are with me …I’m not that afraid of things burning.”

They chuckled. 

Kevin opened the door and then closed it again quickly before Dan could look outside.

“Is something wrong?”, Dan asked.

“Remember when you told me, about that nightmare where the cats turned into spiders?”

“Yes?”

“You might not want to go into this room.”

“Like I said. I’m doing a lot better. Don’t worry about me,” he said as he pushed past Kevin and went into the room. Kevin stormed after him to catch him before he could hit the ground when he fell over unconsciously.

“We might have just broken Dan,” Kevin yelled panicking, as he carried him back into the backroom to lay him on the table there. Their friends followed them.

“Is he really _*that*_ scared of spiders,” Brian asked.

“Well, apparently he is,” Daithi said. He had only arrived a few minutes ago and was wearing a bear costume. Dressing the cats as spiders had been his idea and he had been late because it had been very difficult to get this many spider-cat-costumes.

“Lads, I think you have gone too far.” Kevin carefully placed a hand on Dans’ shoulder, while Lauren held a cold wet towel to his face, careful with the whiskers. When Dan woke up, he was really thankful for this, because it made him look, like he hadn’t cried.

“I’m sorry, Dan,” he heard his friends say all at once.

“It’s okay. I might have overreacted.”

“No, you haven’t. Poor boy,” Lauren said and hugged him before Kevin helped him down from the table.

“I’m fine, now,” Dan said but he didn't sound very sure.

When Brian opened the door to leave, Burnt Marshmallow came in, the huge cat pushing him to the side and almost making him fall over.

“See, Dan? It’s just a cat in a costume,” Kevin said.

“Why does she have 9 legs?” Dan staggered back, hiding his face behind his hands.

~~~

  
After they had managed to get all the cats out of their costumes which turned out to be a lot harder than it had been to dress them and Dan had calmed down enough to leave the back room, they all were quite tired.

  
“Lads. I’m tired. I’m gonna head home,” Daithi said after a while of them being quiet. Brian avoided looking at him as they said goodbye to Daithi when he left.

“I should get home as well,” James said and got to his feet.

“James, we’ll help you walk,” Lauren said as she noticed how the ground seemed to be shaking for him.

“Thanks,” James said as he staggered forward and Noemi and Lauren both had to catch one of his flailing arms.

Small Spiderman had to hold the door open for them.

Kevin and Dan looked at Brian who was staring at a note in his hands.

“What’s that.”

“It doesn’t matter. Nothing matters.” Brian shredded the note and threw it into the garbage bin. “I’m tired. I’ll go home as well.”

“Get home safely,” Dan yelled after him.

  
~~~

  
There were still some guests around, but now there were fewer. Some of the kids had cried, when their parents had picked them up.

“Kevin, no.”

“Kevin, yes! Don’t tell me you are not curious.”

He fished the pieces of the note out of the trash bin and placed them on the table next to it to puzzle them back together.

Dan was indeed curious and soon he stood next to him.

“Don’t freak out,” Dan started reading.

“How do I forgive myself for all the things I did not become?”, Kevin continued.

“I’ve been too afraid for too long.” 

“And for so long I’ve been staying awake at night, wondering if I should tell you.” 

“It makes me laugh to wonder how many likes this will get on Facebook -the world has gone crazy.” 

“We both know, this has been coming for a long time.” 

“I am and I have and I will always love you.” 

  
Dan and Kevin shared a worried look.

“I mean. We both know what that is,” Dan said.

“A love letter,” Kevin said. 

“A goodbye note,” Dan said at the same time.

They read it again.

“Well. Shit. I have no idea what this is,” Dan said.

“Call him and ask, if he’s okay.” Kevin took his phone from him and then held it in his face.

Dan obeyed without picking up an argument about who had to call and Kevin knew that he was seriously worried.

“He won’t pick up.”

“Oh, feck.“

Dan started walking up and down between the tables. The cats and some of the guests watched him.

“What if it’s not a love letter,” Dan said again.

“We are going there now,” Kevin said, taking his hand.

“Jill, we’ll be back soon,” Dan yelled to the kitchen.

“You are really going outside like that?”, Jill asked as they opened the door.

But Dan and Kevin were already gone.

  
~~~

  
On their way, Kevin collected a lot of sweets, while passing crowds of people- they handed them just out to him.

“Brian, please open up,” Dan yelled, knocking loudly, when they finally stood in front of his door.

“Brian, open or I’ll kick in the door,” Kevin yelled.

“I’d like to see you try,” they heard Brian's voice from somewhere inside.

“3-2-…”

“No! Don’t! I’m opening. I’m opening,” Brian yelled from somewhere inside.

  
“Dude, you scared us,” Kevin said.

“Why?”

“We found your note. What was it about?”

“I- You what? ….Just. Come in.” he gestured them to come inside.

  
Dan and Kevin sat down on the couch a bit awkwardly. Kevin hugged his bag of sweets closely, wondering if he should share them with the others to take a bit of the awkwardness away, but then he decided against it.

They were quiet, while Brian made some tea no one had asked for.

Brian seemed to have red eyes and unprompted he said: “I might have some cat allergies.”

The other two didn’t reply to that obvious lie and it got quiet again.

Kevin looked around, while Dan focused on the not very clean floor.

  
Wasn’t that one of Daithi's’ shirts over the clothing chair?

He nudged Dan and gestured to the chair.

They shared a look.

  
When Brian came back with the tea, he noticed the shirt.

“Don’t look at me like that -I didn’t steal it. Stop looking at me like that -all judgingly.”

“Sorry,” Kevin said and focused on his cup. The tea probably had zero sugar in it and he was to introverted to ask for some. So he stayed quiet and didn’t enjoy the tea.

“Maybe you should try …talking to him. Or. Why didn’t you give him the note?”, Dan said carefully.

“I tried. I actually tried.”

“..But?”

“You know how he is. I tried to say something then he made a dick joke and then I laughed and nothing happened.”

“Well. They say time heals all wounds and I trust that your wounds will heal with time and alcohol,“ Kevin said in a cheerful tone. Then he gave Dan a glance that told him, he thought it was best to leave Brian alone.

“Kev, we can’t leave him alone like that.”

“He’s an adult. He’s older than both of us.”

“But his heart is broken.”

“I’m fine, guys. Also, I’m right here.”

“You shut up,” Dan said.

Brian raised his hands defensively.

“He shouldn’t be alone right now,” Dan said more softly.

“Okay fine,” Kevin said after a long pause.

“You can come to our place and stay there for a bit,“ Dan reassured him.

  
~~~

  
They had to go back to The Edge Of The Universe before they could go back to the apartment, where Brian would wait for them. Kevin didn’t like how Dan just gave his keys to Brian. Just like that. And told him where everything was. He had looked forward to being alone with Dan again after this stressful day. But any activities that would include loud noises were now cancelled.

He shook his head and tried to think of something else. A bit of time went by and one after another everyone left and the two of them were alone.

Kevin was lost in his thoughts about the next video he would have to make, while he swept the floor. He felt like some more horrible games on his phone.

  
“Don’t make me guess what you are thinking. …You should try to talk about your feelings more,” Dan chuckled, when he tried to read Kevin's expression.

“I’m fine.”

“Don’t bottle up your emotions.”

  
Kevin stopped sweeping the floor and sighed. “Do you know that ‘I’ll keep all my emotions right here and then one day I’ll die.' Is from John Mulaney and it’s about Irish people? Ah, yes you wouldn’t understand because you are not one hundred per cent Irish. What about you? You seem sad. I hope you are not worrying about Brian too much. He’ll be fine,” Kevin said softly.

  
“I’m just in constant fear, that everything will end terribly. Like things are going so fine. -I have a boyfriend I love and who loves me back, I have a job I love, I have loads of cats. Things couldn’t be better and still, there is that fear, that- that-”

  
“...that everything is just a beautiful dream and one day you wake up and you are all alone?”

  
“Yeah. That.”

“Feck no. That’s not gonna happen.”

Dan had to cough in surprise.

  
“Everything will be fine!”, Kevin said. “Cats, tell him.”

The cats stopped doing whatever they had been doing and gathered around them.

“The world started in darkness and it will end in darkness,” George said.

“Thanks, George. See? Everything will be fine,” Kevin said.

“Did you ever notice, that it’s never completely dark? Even when you close your eyes, you see little bits of light,” Burnt Marshmallow said.

  
“But where does the light come from?”, Becky asked.

  
“The light comes from within,” Rose said.

“Well-”, Schrödinger started, but Detective Mittens hissed at him.

“You heard them. Everything will be fine,” Kevin emphasized. He had gotten completely used to talking to the cats. Probably more than Dan ever would. He shook his head.

“Everything will be fine. Let’s go home, Dan. Brian is probably waiting for us.”

“He’s probably already fast asleep.”

“Yeah,” Kevin put the broom away and then he pulled Dan close.

“Wait one last second. The night is over, right?” Dan smiled seductively as he leaned back a bit.

“Thanks for reminding me. We’ll have to destroy those fecking whiskers, now.”

The cats looked away as they started to violently make out.

After they were done, they had black sharpie smeared all over their faces. 

  
~~~

  
James stumbled through the crowded streets at the same time. Somehow he had lost Lauren, female Einstein and small Spiderman. He got scared by the one or other monster and let out high pitched screams. It was scary.

He didn’t really know how to get home at this point, anymore. Damn, he was so drunk.

Furthermore, he had been called ‘daddy smurf‘ by a Vampire, a Fairy and two Batmen. Someone had given him yet another glass of Guinness and some sweets.

Suddenly he stood in front of The Edge Of The Universe again. 

Dan and Kev were still there. 

He didn’t want to be a creep and watch them make out, so he decided to try again to find his way home from where he had started walking the last time if that made any sense.

But then he hesitated and turned around to look anyway. 

Something about that picture in front of him felt strange.

Kevin was now talking. But he wasn’t looking at Dan, but at a group of cats.

Wait a fucking second- were they talking back to him?

no.

He emptied the rest of the glass of Guinness in the middle of the street.

Enough alcohol for today.

  
~~~

  
In another part of Dublin, Daithi's phone rang. 

He had just started to make some four o’clock scrambled eggs because it was that time of night when they tasted best, as everyone who lived alone for too long knows.

He looked at his phone.

Terror<3: We need to talk

  
There was a cold feeling in his stomach when Daithi called Brian to find out what was wrong.

“Are you upset with me?”, was the first thing he asked.

“I gave my heart to you, Daithi,” Brian said. He sounded anything but sober.

“Don’t be so sappy. You should wait until the alcohol wears off and we talk then.”

“I’ll be sappy whenever I want. I don’t give a shit. I love you. Fuck off.”

Then he hung up.


	24. tea and phone calls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading.  
> I appreciate you all so much!
> 
> This chapter is going to be a lot of fluff, since we all really need this right now.
> 
> Please enjoy. :)

“Did you tell Jill good luck on their exams from both of us?”, Kevin asked, as he sat down on his suitcase, before immediately standing up again, because it was fecking uncomfortable.

“Of course I did. They apologized again.”

“Why would they even need geography and music for, when they want to be a fecking veterinarian anyway.”

“We agreed that it’s stupid.”

They were quiet for a moment, because a train drove past.

A group of tourists shoved past them rudely and they had to hold hands to not lose each other. When this part of the train station became more empty again, they let go of each other.

  
“Mammy said it would be okay for her if we just brought the cats with us. And she would love to finally meet you," Kevin said. He really didn’t like leaving Dan behind.

“I don’t think anyone else on the train would be okay with that.”

“But cats are great.”

“It’s only three days, Kevin.”

“I know. Some day, I’ll need to show you the good ole potato farm.”

They were quiet for a moment. People walked past them. Somewhere a baby cried.

“I have something for you for your birthday. But you’ll get it, when you come back," Dan said with a wink.

“That means I’m going to have to come back," he said, acting, like he was upset about it. “I hope it’s a potato," he added then with a special grin that only Dan ever got to see.

“Something even better," Dan said and winked even more suggestively.

“Two potatoes.”

  
“Dude, I’m going to miss you," Dan said as he punched his arm lovingly.

“Bro, me too. So fecking much.”

“Please text me when you get there.”

“I might even call.”

They hugged. Kevin really looked forward to seeing his family again for his birthday, but he just hated, that he couldn't introduce his first boyfriend to them, because someone had to stay with the Edge of the Universe and take care of things and especially the cats there.

“okay, I can’t let you go like this," Dan said and hugged him again, this time longer.

“I need to tell you something, before I go," Kevin whispered.

“What is it, Kevin?”

Kevin took his hand. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath. For a moment he seemed shaky, like he was going to fall over. The small box in his pocket was suddenly undescribably heavy. He held his hand a bit closer, while Dan watched him struggle for words, waiting patiently.

“Trains are just enslaved busses.”

Dan laughed. Then he punched his arm, this time a bit harder.

“That’s why I love you, Kev.”

“I know.”

Then Kevin cupped his face and gave him a quick but passionate kiss, which gave both of them really weak knees.

“You stink and I love you," Kevin said with a grin. “I’m going to miss you so much," he added more softly.

“I know.” Dan had to let go of Kevins hand when he had to climb into the enslaved bus.

“I already miss you," Dan said quietly, putting his hand on the window, before he had to step back when the train started moving.

_________

  
At night Dan stayed awake for a long time. He stared at the ceiling and then at the clock, before he turned to lie on his stomach to watch the time on his phone.

“Happy Birthday," Dan wrote at midnight.

“Happy Birthday to you, too.” Came the answer only seconds later. This fecker had waited for Dan to write the message, so he could reply just that.

Dan chuckled quietly.

  
______

  
In his old childhood bedroom, two hours later, Kevin sat on his much too small race car bed. He held the green pullover in his arms. Last week he had pressured Dan into wearing it for most of the time. Now it smelled like him again. He buried his face in the soft fabric as he curled up on the much too small surface and for the first time ever he felt homesick in this bed.

‘I can’t stop thinking about you.', he typed and then he deleted it again.

Tomorrow they would have a small birthday party with the family, which meant that the whole village would come.

Maybe he would stay for even one more day, because he hadn't seen his family in forever but after that he would drive back home.

Home.

____

  
At the same time Dan dried his eyes with the blanket, that still smelled like Kevin's shampoo in the much too big bed, which was actually average size for one person but without Kevin…

Without Kevin by his side, the nightmares were worse than ever. He had tossed and turned for an hour, until he woke up and stared at the ceiling motionless for another hour.

He couldn’t get rid of the image of Kevin soaked in his own blood because Jim Pickens had killed him. As the clock kept ticking mercilessly, a headache started to form behind his eyes and he gave up his half assed attempt of finding sleep.

So, he put on Kevins yellow shirt, which was his third favourite right after the white one and the plain black one, but before the batman one, and went on tip toes back to the kitchen to make some tea to calm down.

  
“Dan, are you still awake?”, Brian asked suddenly, which made him jump a little. And the next moment he stood behind him, wearing Kevins bathrobe. It was much too big for him and Dan hoped he was wearing something underneath.

“Yes. I just- yes, I’m still awake. Why are you up?”

“Daithi keeps calling,“ he said as he followed him into the kitchen.

“You not gonna answer him?“

“Hell no.”

Brian sat down at the kitchen table, while Dan started to prepare tea for both of them, filling the kettle with water. Then he placed it on the stove.

“I wouldn’t touch this table if I were you," Dan said, with a smirk as he leaned against the counter, his arms crossed.

“Is there any surface in this flat you haven’t f-”

“No.”

“I can’t touch anything in here. Thank god, I brought my own sheets for the sofa…”

Brians phone beeped again and he wondered why he had brought it with him. Dan watched him stare at it until it stopped beeping.

“I probably should turn it off," Brian said, but then he didn’t.

Helplessly, Dan searched for something comforting to say, until the water started to boil loudly and Dan had to fill two mugs. His mug had a dead sheep on the front and Brians was white and there was in black letters the words ‘best dad‘ written on it.

  
“You seem a bit besides yourself since Halloween," Dan said very casually as he sat down on the other side of the table.

“The outburst at Sephoras is not reflective of who I am as a person.”

“We all can have breakdowns from time to time. But you should consider getting back on your feet," Dan said softly.

“ConSIdeR GetTInG BacK On YOuR FeEt“

“Brian!”

“Don’t tell me what to do.”

“You know what? That’s exactly what I’m doing. You- You have to stop moping around and posting sad quotes on Instagram.”

“I’m not looking back. Sometimes temporary people give permanent scars, as someone anonymous has said once-”

“Brian, for fucks s- Daithi is not temporary! And you didn’t even give him a chance to reply.”

“Aren’t we all temporary?”

“Jeeesus. Stop. okay? You are spiraling. Don’t forget that you have friends and we care for you and want you to be happy.” Dan finally snapped.

“It’s not easy to just-”

“I know," Dan sighed. They both did.

Brian stared into his tea and without looking up, he said: “…Thanks for being my friends. I really appreciate it. You two always seem so happy and…”

“I don’t know how Kevin can always be that positive. He sometimes gets a bit sad, when there are mean comments, but-”

Brian laughed suddenly. “Sometimes I just wanna kick that little ten year old kid in the face. -I bet it’s always the same one.”

“There is the old Brian.”

  
They smiled at each other briefly. Then he took a deep breath and sat his cup on the table next to him. “Dan, you are right. I’ll make a new video tomorrow. A little bit of violence will work miracles.”

“Absolutely. Playing some video games will help. No matter how terrible you are at it. -According to the ten year olds.”

“I’m just happy, I’m not working at subway anymore.”

They laughed.

“Like. If they don’t like the video- …Do they realise, that they are free to just not watch it?”

“This kid is just stupid. What’s his favourite colour? Seven?”, Brian said.

Dan hid his laugh behind his cup.

“Do you know, that Kevin will never fucking shut up, about how cute he thinks your smile is?”

“No…”

“He never fucking shuts up about you when you are not there. He mentions you in almost every video, nowadays.”

Dan hadn’t watched most of his latest videos yet, and hearing that from Brian made him feel very warm inside and he realised how much he missed being alone with Kevin.

“How long are you planning to stay?”, Dan asked, still a warm smile on his lips, thinking about all the things they could do, when they were alone again.

“Way to tell me to fuck off.”

“You know, that’s not what I said. You can stay as long as you need to.”

“Thank you, I appreciate it, but.. You are right. I guess it’s time I get home.”

  
Then the phone in front of him started beeping again and frozen he stared at the display.

“Pick it up," Dan said softly, before he stood up and took his tea. It was almost cold.

Brian nodded bravely, before answered the call, without saying anything.

Dan could hear Daithi talking, but not what he was saying. Then he patted Brians shoulder before leaving him alone.

  
~~~

  
Dan sat back down on the bed, when his phone signaled the arrival of a new message. He blinked at the bright display. Once more he had butterflys in his stomach when he saw Kevins name. His smile faltered a bit when he realised it was half past four in the morning. They were all complete desaster humans, he thought as he rolled his eyes. From the kitchen he could hear Brian laugh loudly and it somehow felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders.

  
Kev<3: R u still up

Dan<3: Yeah. You?

  
Right after sending this message, he wanted to hit himself. But it was half past four after all.

  
Kev<3: same

Kev<3: can i call

Kev<3: ?

Dan<3: Ye

  
And right after he had hit ‘send’, and before he had even finished writing, he saw Kevins name appear on the display.

  
“Hey," Dan said quietly.

“Hey," Kevin answered.

  
Then they were quiet, before they said, “I miss you.“ At the same time, which made them both giggle quietly.

After another more comfortable pause, Dan told him about his conversation with Brian and Kevin told him about the last round of family Monopoly and the war crimes that had been commited while playing.

  
Luckily for them they had a flatrate, because soon, they both fell asleep without hanging up first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think.  
> Y'alls comments always make me so happy and they really help me with the writing :)
> 
> Updates will be a little bit slower this month, tho, because I have some projects to finish. -which you can also be excited about. ;)


	25. Calling you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's back.
> 
> Thank you all for your patience and the nice comments.  
> They mean so much to me.

“Fecking hell.” Dan heard a female voice right next to him, as he woke up, from a short, but dreamless sleep.

It sounded weird, somehow far away, somehow …mechanic.

When he looked over, he saw his phone next to him. The bright display hurt his eyes and he had to blink. The cable of the charger was everything but long enough, so the phone was on the far edge of the bed and he had been talking in a weird position because of it.

“Hello?”, he asked, picking it up.

“Is that famous Daniel Condren?”, the voice asked.

“Umm. Who are you?”

“I’m Allison. Kevos sister. I stole his phone, when he wouldn’t come downstairs for breakfast and now I’m going to tell you embarrassing childhood storys until he finally lets me use the bathroom FOR FECKS SAKE!”

“It’s a pleasure to finally -uh- talk to you. I’m Dan," he mumbled as he slowly sat up. His head hurt from not enough sleep and he rubbed his eyes with his free hand.

“Did you know what his first word was?”, Allison asked cheerfully.

“What?”

“Feck.”

“Really?” He chuckled. Now he was fully awake.

“Yes. Papa is sure it was ‘Papa‘, but I _know_ it was ‘Feck‘, because I taught it to him.- did he ever tell you the story of how he got chased by geese?”

“I’ve seen him having a problem with a goose before," Dan said, remembering their romantic picnic. This also made him remember how much he missed Kevin and he started to feel childish, because he hadn’t been away for much more than a day yet and still…

“Well,”, Allison started explaining, “we had a family picnic in the parc and then he went to get some ice cream alone, but suddenly we heard screaming and when we found him, he was being attacked by a fecking swarm of geese.”

“Oh no. That explains so much. How old was he?”

“Seventeen.”

“Give it back.” Dan heard Kevin yell somewhere in the background. Then the sound of two people running.

Laughter.

Then Allison talked again. She sounded like she was outside.

“We are coming over to you lads for christmas next month.

It’ll be great to finally meet you, because potato-boy will never fecking shut up about you. Also: Has he ever shown you pictures of his emo phase? I can show you when we meet.”

“Well-”, Dan started, but she wasn’t listening. There was some yelling again.

“Wow, Kevo is a lot slower than when we last met. You feed him too much, it seems.” She laughed and Dan was surprised at how similar it sounded to Kevins laugh. “…Hey, Daniel, did you ever wonder, how Kevo got his scar-”

Then he heard a loud thud and more laughter. Three voices were yelling something that he couldn’t understand, but sounded extremely irish and then he heard Kevin’s voice again. “Don’t believe a single word she says.”

“Well-”

“I’ll talk to you later. I love you, Cupcake," Kevin said.

“I love you, too," Dan said. He was extremely curious, about what Allison could tell him about Kevin but on the other hand, he worried this could make his boyfriend uncomfortable, but then again…

“I can’t wait to see you again," Kevin said, really not wanting to hang up yet.

“He looks at you all the time. You are his fecking lockscreen and his wallpaper," he heard Allison yell from next to her brother.

“I miss you anyway," Kevin said.

“I miss you, too.”

He heard walking and then muffled noises, some arguing and then a door.

“MAMMY, KEVIN BURNED THE ORANGE JUICE," someone yelled.

“Sorry, Dan, gotta go. I love you more than …potatoes," Kevin whispered hurriedly into the phone.

And Dan imagined how Kevin would now be looking at him expectantly, proud of being romantic and Dan chuckled lightly.

“I love you more than numbers can count," Dan said.

“Even more than three?”

“I love you so much more than three.”

Then Dan heard fighting noises again.

“Kevin, come here for breakfast," he heard a woman yell.

“Yes, Kevin, breakfast. Bye, Daniel," Allison said. 

“Didn’t you want to use the bathroom? Hey, give that back. Dan, I love you to the Great Fecker and back and I’ll call again as soon as I can. Bye," Kevin said quickly.

“I love you, too. So much. But, please, enjoy your time with your family. I’ll wait for you here.”

“Okay," Kevin said and then he made some kissy noises before hanging up.

“You two are disgusting," Brian said and Dan jumped a little.

“I didn’t know, you were awake already.”

“I didn’t really go to sleep at all," Brian admitted, leaning against the door frame, his arms crossed.

“Have you finally talked?”, Dan asked, sitting back down.

“Yes and no.”

“What does that mean?”

“We …umm… We just talked but not talked-talked. I guess we are just ignoring it like men.”

“Are you okay with this, Brian?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay.” He sounded maybe half okay.

“Should I help you pack your things?”

“They are already packed. …And thanks for letting me stay here.”

“No problem at all, man.”

~~~

With Brian gone, he was finally, for the first time in along time, really alone.

Having breakfast without Kevin or even Brian was unimaginable.

He left with just an apple in his hand, which he ate while walking. 

Walking to the cat cafe alone was strange.

Witha frown he realised, that he had forgotten his headphones, because usually he would either chat with Kevin or they would share Kevin’s headphones. And of course his boyfriend had taken them with him for the train ride.

At the edge of the universe, the cats greeted him lazily.

Being alone at the cat cafe was strange.

Jill wasn’t there, because they had to write exams.

Martha had a doctor’s appointment.

Emma was in school and her mothers were at work.

He found himself missing all of them. 

~~~

It was a quiet day. Most of the guests weren’t very talkative.

…At least until somewhere around lunch time, when James bursted into the cafe: “Top of the morning to you, Dan.”

He patiently waited, one arm raised, until Dan put down the plates and the cup, before giving him a high-five.

“How is it going?”, Dan asked.

“Oh, I just wanted to say ‘hi’ to the cats and see if they say hi back," James said very casually, watching the cats.

“They don’t usually say ‘hi’ back but I’m sure, they’d appreciate some treats," Dan said, just being glad to see a friend again. 

So James played with the cats while Dan watched him with a smirk and cleaned some of the cutlery.

~~~

“Dan you got something happy on your face. Is by any chance Kevin calling?”, James asked, when Dan’s phone rang.

“Can you watch the cafe for a moment?”

“Yeah, of course, Dan. Go, talk to your boyfriend.”

Dan rolled his eyes at him, before he disappeared into the backroom. After he closed the door behind him, he said: “Hey.”

“Hey," Kevin replied. He sounded a little bit stressed.

“When you die, you go to the garden, until your father says you are done," he heard Kevins mother say in the background.

“Theological discussions?”, Dan asked with a chuckle.

“Playing mario party with my sister. …Also Max is coming over later. So I have to help a bit in the garden first, or we are not allowed to use the playstation.”

“Oh, nice. …Are you going to do that thing, you talked about? Paint ball with your friends?”, Dan asked.

“My heart says yes, but my mammy says no.”

“Oh, okay…”

“Not after the incident," Kevin added quickly.

“What incident?”, Dan asked with a chuckle and leaned against the table behind him with a stupid grin on his face.

“Nevermind.”

“Do I have to ask your sister?”

After a moment Kevin replied: “She’s going to tell you either way.”

“I sure as feck will," Dan heard Allison say.

“Can you hear me, Allison?”, Dan asked in confusion.

“Yes, that boomer here doesn’t know how to switch to not talking on speaker.”

“I’m not a boomer. You are a boomer.”

There were just the loud sounds of Mario Party in the background, until Kevin mumbled: “Feck!”

“I guess you died," Dan said slowly, listening closely for more sounds.

“I died.”

“So you are going to the garden.”

“Yes. It’s weird how I’m whenever I visit home, I’m 14 again. -I hope the sun isn’t shining.”

“Don’t forget your sunscrean," Dan said and grinned.

“He’s already got a sunburn," he heard Allison say.

“I would be surprised, if it was any different.”

“Feck off. Both of you. Also, Dan, I love you so much and-”

“He practiced his signature with your surname," Allison yelled, from right next to Kevin.

He heard some irish curses. Then steps, probably stairs and a door. 

“Dan, I- I-”, Kevin started quietly after a while.

“I’m glad you want to get my surname, but we can also keep yours if you want," Dan said, trying to take the awkwardness away.

Kevin stayed quiet. 

Then he heard some rustling.

“What are you doing?”, Dan asked.

“Cleaning my room or I’ll have no dessert," Kevin mumbled and there was more rustling to be heard.

“Weren’t you told to go outside?”

“Oh. Feck. Yes.”

“Then I’ll talk to you later.”

“Why?”, Kevin asked and it sounded more defensive, than he had intended.

“Because I miss you very much?”

There was a pause again.

“I miss you, too," Kevin said and it sounded like something was wrong.

“Is something wrong?”, Dan asked slowly.

“I don’t want to do this over phone," Kevin said reluctantly after taking a deep breath.

“Phone sex? Yeah, Probably not, while I’m still at the cafe.”

Kevin laughed, startled.

“What are you wearing, Kevin?”

They laughed again.

“Only my glasses," Kevin said proudly.

“Only your glasses you say?”

“Yeah. I forgot my contact lenses at home.”

Home.

Dan’s heart made a little jump. After all this time, it was still the small things that could make him so incredibly happy.

“I love you so much," he said.

“Feck off, I love you more. ….Okay, I gotta go outside now. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Okay. Don’t forget to get dressed, before," Dan said and they both giggled. “And the sunsreen!“

Then Kevin made some kissy noises and hung up.

Dan stared at the phone as the display went dark again.

He had also tried to draw his signature with Kevins surname just to see what it would look like. That had happened more at the beginning of their relationship, than he liked to admit. It had felt different. In that moment he had thought it was a bit childish, writing your first name together with the surname of the person you had a crush on -he hadn’t done something like that, since he was in elementary school. Being a fan of Thomas the Tank Engine, he had written _Daniel the tank engine_ in the back of his scribble book way too many times.

Knowing that Kevin had done the same, made him smile. 

~~~

Unbeknownst to Dan however, Kevin was now panicking. 

“For fecks sake, Kevo. Calm down. Trust me, if you keep dropping little hints, he’ll get used to the idea and won’t say no. It’s psychological warfare.”

“You think he would say ‘no’?”, Kevin asked and it was hard to not show his sister how much he was actually panicking.

“Not if you manipulate him into saying ‘yes’.”

“I don’t want to manipulate him. Not like that.”

“Nerd.” She rolled her eyes. “You really like him …huh?”

“Yeah.”

“If he hurts you, I’ll burn his house down.”

“Technically he lives in my house.”

“You know that this won’t stop me.”

“Thanks, All.”

~~~

Dan woke up from daydreaming about a certain irish man, when James knocked at the door.

“Dan? You have to help me make hot chocolate. I don’t know what kind of magic you put in there," James yelled from outside.

“I’m coming.”

“Are you still talking to Kevin?”

“No, we are already done," Dan said and glared at him, after he opened the door.

There were now more guests at the cafe, since it was a rainy afternoon. Rainy days seemed to draw in more people looking for coziness and the company of a cat, or two.

James struggled with making chocolate frappucino venti, while Dan cut Marshmallows in little pieces.

“You know you can also buy small Marshmallows.”

“It’s not the same as cutting them. They don’t taste the same," Dan explained calmly.

“Awww, shit. Sorry," James said as he accidently spilled some raspberry syrup.

Dan froze as he saw the red colour spilling in front of them

“Dan? Are you okay?”, James asked, reaching for a wet towel before making everything a lot worse.

Dan nodded.

He stared at the red on his hands.

“Alright. I don’t really like raspberrys either," James said with a sideglance to Dan. He turned around and two grey and three orange cats very obviously acted like they hadn’t been watching them.

After James had managed to clean most of it, Dan could move again. He smiled at him like nothing had happened.

Soon after that, James left with more questions than he had entered with.

~~~

After Dan had closed the cafe in the evening, and right before he wanted to leave, he sent a selfie of himself, with George and Burnt Marshmallow, to Kevin.

Only seconds later his phone beeped.

“Hi, it’s me again.”

“Hello, Allison. …how are you?”

“Good. Kevin’s in the bathroom right now.”

There was a pause. Apparently she was waiting for Dan to start talking.

“So what do you do?”, he asked.

“I’m helping out on the potato farm a lot. But I’m also training to become a chef. Took a few cooking courses. Did Kevo never tell you about it?”

“Now that you say it, he actually did. -But I thought he was joking.”

“Why?”

“Because have you ever seen him cooking?”

“Well although I’m the older, more experienced and also prettier one, everything I learned about cooking, I learned from Potato Boy.”

“Jesus-”

“Let me tell you about his imaginary friend Paul-”, Allison said quickly. And from her voice he could tell, she had an evil grin right now. “I think he was getting his drivers licence when he started talking about him-”

“Give that back.” Dan heard Kevin say and then sounds of fighting. “Did she tell you, how she tried to send me away with the post, because she’s seen it on the Simpsons.”

“We’ve always watched the Simpsons together," Allison added.

“I think that’s enough childhood stories for today. When I come back, I need to show you my birthday presents. I might be able to bring some cake, too. Mammy made my favourite. The dry one.”

“You’ll have a lot of games to play, when he gets home," Allison said and her voice sounded suggestive.

“Yes, we can do that after we finished Lego Harry-”

“Did you ever wonder, why Kevo doesn’t like LEGO?”, Allison disrupted him.

“He doesn’t like LEGO?”, Dan asked.

Then he could hear a lot of curse words flying around at the other end.

“Kevin, you don’t like playing with LEGOs?” , Dan asked, confused.

He had to wait for an answer.

“Not since the incident.”

“Why haven’t you told me. We’ve been building castles for hours together.“

The phone was quiet for some time and just when he wanted to ask, if Kevin was still there, he answered: “It made you happy. And it makes me happy, when you are happy.”

“When you come back we will do something, you like," Dan said softly.

“Arson?”

“No-”

“Baking?”

“You know exactly how I think about that.”

“It wasn’t even my fault that the bread caught fire.”

“Okay, one time it wasn’t your fault, that the bread caught fire, but all the other times…”

There was some yelling in the background and Kevin yelled something in irish back, that Dan couldn’t understand.

“Dan, I’ll be back tomorrow evening.”

“Okay.”

“My family will play another round of monopoly. And after that I’ll get more birthday presents. Do you think you can sleep?”

“Yes. I’ve calmed down, I think.”

“Okay. Good night, then," Kevin said and Dan already started to miss him very badly again.

“Sleep tight.”

“Don’t let the bad dreams bite. If anything’s wrong, just call," Kevin said and he sounded worried. And his boyfriend knew that he was worried, because this had been a missed opportunity to make a ‘call me Kevin‘-joke.

“Go play, Kevin, I’m fine again. …I love you," Dan said with a soft smile. Of course Kevin couldn’t see it, but he knew it was there anyway.

“I love you, too.”

Dan waited for Kevin to hang up.

And Kevin waited for Dan to hang up.

“For fecks sake. You two are so-”, Dan heard Allison say and apparently in the end she was the one hanging up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m only taking half the blame for Daniel the tank engine. The other half gets yeeteroffeckers. Thanks, dude, for being the Daniel- Wikipedia. 
> 
> Aaaand I’d like to stress, that Allison is not his real sister. Allison looks like Kevin with the face-app-thingy. She has long red hair and likes wearing pink, which looks terrible in that combination.
> 
> Please tell me your thoughts and opinions.


	26. cats and early morning discussions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading and commenting.  
> I have so much fun writing this and I'm glad you seem to like it.
> 
> Also:  
> How many references to famous twitter posts can you see?
> 
> Also also: Tw for drinking alcohol in this chapter.  
> -But nothing bad happens.
> 
> Actually this is an extremely fluffy chapter again.  
> Very fluff much cute
> 
> Love you, friends. Have fun reading.

He had woken up with three cats on his face and not being able to breathe.

Actually it wasn’t that much different from sleeping with Kevin, who would also sometimes in the middle of the night lie on top of him and squish him, so he had to wake him or he wouldn’t be able to breathe.

Dan shooed the cats away and sat up, running a hand through his hair.

It was 6:04 am.

“Daniel is...evil?”, Burnt Marshmallow asked sleepily. 

The cats were very upset, he had woken them.

Dan yawned as an answer. He hadn’t seen another choice, but to stay at the edge of the universe over night because he couldn’t sleep well without Kevin. It just hadn’t made sense to go back where everything would be empty and he would be completely alone. At least the cats were with him. But now he wasn't that sure anymore if that even was a good thing.

“Daniel is unyielding!”, Rose said.

The cats jumped back into his lap, but Dan shooed them away.

“Daniel is incapable of love!”, George said.

 _Now_ he had a headache.

“I am running away-”, Sir Fecker the Third threatened.

“You guys should stay with the others. I'd like to be alone right now.”

“Jail for Daniel. Jail for a thousand years," Burnt Marshmallow said, as he picked her up with a grunt to get the cats into the other room. She sunk her tiny vampire teeth into his hand.

He frowned at her and sat her back down. 

It was not like he really wanted to be alone right now.

The cats were just dramatic Feckers. All cats were, after all. 

Dan gav up and layed back down.

He stared at the ceiling. There were the spots he had watched for hours in the middle of lonely nights when he couldn’t sleep. And he thought of how Kevin had turned his whole life around, the moment he had met him. The moment when they had first locked eyes, when Kevin had first stumbled into the cafe on that fateful rainy day. The moment-

“Cruel and unjust," Burnt Marshmallow said, as she jumped onto his stomach, and he shoved her to the side immediately, because his inner organs were suffering too much at the weight of the cat. 

Daniel stared at his cats which were still upset that they weren’t allowed to suffocate him in his sleep.

“Go back to sleep," he said weakly.

But he himself couldn’t.

It was 6:05 am.

Dan caught himself staring at the clock, waiting for Kevin to come back. 

It was already sunday. He usually loved sundays. But it just wasn’t the same without Kevin. He missed him waking up at 8:30 after hitting the snooze button 6 times, and giving him a kiss, before opening the window and announcing Kevin was going to be late for work. Then he would let the water boil in the kitchen for some tea, before yelling from the computer room: “Don’t worry, I made it on time.”

At this point, Dan would get up and finish the tea (with a a lot of milk and sugar), before bringing it over to Kevin. And Kevin would ask how Dan managed to walk past security. And Dan would giggle every time, before putting the tea on the table. Then Kevin would pull him into his lap and kiss him, before showing him which games he was going to play. And while Kevin would film a video, Dan would make breakfast. Because Jill usually would take care of the cat café on sunday mornings, Dan had time to make a video himself and sometimes he streamed.

But right now Dan wasn’t in the mood for that at all. He stared at the ceiling. Then at his phone.

It was 6:05 am.

There was no point in trying to sleep anymore. He rubbed his eyes. A single tear was running down his cheek, as the cats exchanged a worried look, finally seeing that something was really wrong.

“Days like these will pass," George said.

Dan shrugged and rolled to his side, facing away from the cats.

“You won’t feel sad forever," Rose said softly.

“There is no point in looking for shadows when the sun is shining," Sir Fecker the Third said.

“One of the worst feelings is losing a fight against yourself," Dan mumbled, before looking at his phone once more.

It was 6:04 am.

Dan groaned and hid his face in one of Kevin's jackets full of cat hair he was using as a pillow.

And an eternity later at exactly 6:06 am he got up and started to clean the cafe.

~~~

It was almost morning again, but Kevin still ‘partied’ with his friends in the garden of his childhood home.

“Why haven’t you invited me over to you, yet? To Dublin?”, Max asked.

“Is maith leat anraith," Kevin answered and crossed his arms before taking another sip of his irish whiskey. 

All of them already had taken a lot of sips of their irish whiskeys.

“That’s not a good reason, Kevin," Max replied. Someone had turned the music low again, by now.

“Did you finally learn irish?”, Liam asked, surprised.

“No, but I know whatever he said, it’s not a good reason.”

“…Is it not going well with Daniel? I thought you seemed happy," Liam asked, facing Kevin again. Or at least one of the three Kevins he was seeing by now. The left one.

“Iarrfaidh mé air mé a phósadh," Kevin mumbled and sat on the ground, spilling some of his drink. He leaned against the house wall. It was cold and scratchy. Just like it had always been.

“Kevin, I swear to god…”, Max said as he sat down next to him with a grunt.

Liam leaned against the wall next to them and crossed his arms, watching his friends.

“Talk to me in english, Kevin. Is something wrong with Daniel?”, Max asked carefully.

The garden was decorated with balloons, and confetti and fairy lights. There were still guests there standing in small groups. Drinking, smoking, laughing. Until a few hours ago there had also been a lot of singing.

For a moment the three friends were quiet. Until the tallest one started to chuckle.

“I’m gonna ask him to marry me," Kevin said with a stupid smile.

“Awww, that’s awesome! Congratulations, Kevin," Liam said.

And Max just hugged him.

“I wanna hug, too," Henry said, who had just appeared again with a new bottle.

He gave the bottle to Liam and sat donw next to Kevin to hug him from the other side.

“I just don’t know how, yet," Kevin mumbled against Max’s shoulder. “How should I do it. He likes romantic feck.”

“We could help you," Liam said after a pause.

“Yeah! We could give you some ideas," Max added.

“We are professionals.” Henry nodded.

Kevin had to laugh at that. But his friends stayed serious.

“Ask him under the stars. Stars are romantic as fuck," Liam said.

“Picnics are also romantic as fuck," Max said as he filled their glasses once more, because he still had the steadiest hands.

“In Irish," Henry said.

“Ask him in Irish. It’s the sexiest language you could ask him in.”

“Right after simlish," Liam added.

“I know that he doesn’t understand simlish," Kevin mused. But he seemed to like the idea.

“Irish it is then. You can do it, Kevin.”

“You guys are the best.”

“...Didn’t you forget something?” Max crossed his arms.

“Will you be my best man?”, Kevin asked without hesitation.

“Oh my god yes! -but I was talking about something else.”

“Uhh…“ Kevin blinked and scratched his head.

“Your boyfriend has a cat cafe and I never got invited.”

“You wouldn’t like it there.”

“Do you even know me? I love cats," Max said.

“Fine. I hereby invite you over for Christmas.”

“I thought your family is coming over for Christmas," Max said.

“You are my family.”

~~~

The morning went by for Dan so slowly it hurt. Every few minutes he checked the time.

Kevin on the other hand was asleep for maybe an hour and after that he had to pack his stuff, say goodbye to everyone, collect some last presents and then take three buses and the train home.

Allison had too much of a headache to share more endearing childhood stories. And most of the time when Dan looked at his phone, there were no new messages.

It was a great distraction when James came over after lunch.

“Top of the morning to you," he said and Dan almost dropped a glass, when his friend suddenly stood behind him.

They chatted for a while, because there weren't a lot of guests there that day.

“Brian and Daithi are talking again. Finally. I was starting to worry.” 

“They’ll figure it out eventually," Dan said and they exchanged a knowing glance.

James chuckled. All his friends were idiots and it already took Dan and Kevin long enough. “Anyway. Are you excited for tomorrow?”

“Yes, I am. This is going to be so much fun, it’s so awesome that we-”

Outside of the cafe, a car honked.

Dan turned and looked out of the window. “Sorry, James, that’s Martha. She picks me up, to drive me to the train station.”

“Go to your boyfriend, Dan. I can close the cafe, take care of the last costumers for you and give the cats fresh water.”

Dan hesitated. “You don’t have to.”

Martha honked again.

“It would be no problem at all.”

Dan nodded and took his jacket. “Thank you. Good man yourself. I’ll tell Kevin you said hi.”

James watched Dan leave and wave at him, before getting into an old green car that was still honking. Two pedestrians jumped to the side, when the car started driving.

James turned to the cats and the cats averted their eyes and pretended like they hadn’t been watching him.

“I know you guys can understand me.”

The cats exchanged looks and stepped back.

“Talk to me.”

The cats pretended like they couldn't understand him.

Sir Fecker the Third coughed out a wet ball of fur in front of his feet.

"Hey, I know you did this on purpose."

The last guests looked at him weirdly before putting some cash on their table and leaving.

James ignored them.

He watched the cats.

~~~

“I missed you so much," Kevin said and let his suitcase and bag fall to the ground, when he saw Dan.

They hugged and didn’t want to let go of each other anymore.

“I like your new shirt," Dan said, running a hand over the soft yellow fabric. 

“Thank you. Mammy bought it for me," his boyfriend answered with a lopsided smile.

Kevin watched him expectantly.

“You are probably wondering, what you will get for your birthday from me," Dan said with a mischievous grin.

“Did you bring it here?”

“No. You’ll get it when we are home.”

“Ok, but I got something for you. I brought you a hat," Kevin said and held a purple hat in front of his face.

“It’s hideous," Dan said.

“You are welcome.”

Kevin took the hat back and placed it on Dans head.

The fabric was surprisingly soft and warm.

“Thank you," Dan said and kissed his cheek.

“Tonight I want you to wear nothing but that hat and your glasses," Kevin whispered in his ear, as he hugged him again. 

Daniel inhaled the scent of Irish whiskey, smoke and …Kevin.

They walked hand in hand to the parking lot, where Martha was honking at them as soon as she saw them from her green _1960 Jaguar Mark IX Saloon_. Which was basically just a green old car -parked on the pavement with three tires.

“Martha is driving us home," Dan said like it wasn’t obvious. 

They quickly put the suitcase and the bag into the trunk and then sat on the backseats. 

When the car accelerated, they held hands. Maybe it was their love for each other, maybe it was the fear for their lives. Maybe it was a mix of both.

“Good, that you are back. I hope you were having a grand time. Well, I certainly had a great time this weekend. An old friend is in town and we went to the museum together. They have a great exhibition about cats in the middle ages. You two should go there two sometime.”

“I’m not that huge of a fan of museums…”, Kevin said reluctantly.

“Ok, then,… if you were to ask- …say… something… you should do it after a date you would both enjoy, Dan. Forget what I told you before.” Martha glanced at Dan in the mirror and Dan got a bit white, but Kevin didn’t notice it, because he was distracted by Martha driving much too close past a person on a bike. He could see the fear in the persons eyes, as he looked over his shoulder.

Behind them someone honked.

Martha leaned out of the window and Dan only recognized a few of the curse words.

“Maybe you shouldn’t drive 25km/h in here," Kevin said.

“This is starting to sound like _I_ might be the problem," Martha said and continued driving 25km/h.

Dan looked at Kevin, eyes wide.

“I can’t wait to arrive at home with you," Kevin said and gave Dans hand a tingly kiss. They exchanged a look and knew what the other one was thinking.

“You just want your present," Dan chuckled.

“If you think, Dan’s present is great, wait till you see what I got for you. -But you get it tomorrow," Martha said.

“Martha, that sounds scary," Kevin said.

“You get the same present as Emma. And you both will love it," Martha said.

“Didn’t you say one of your friends shares their birthday with her?”, Kevin asked.

“We got a heap of birthdays in November, because Valentines day was nine months ago. And yes, Meredith will be there, too," Martha said.

~~~

“You got me a blender?” Kevin sounded surprised.

“Guess what it symbolizes.”

“Blood lust?” 

“Of course not.”

“Are you pregnant?”

“Kevin!”

“I have to inform you that I skipped that part in biology class.”

“I’m not going to explain it to you again. -the blender symbolizes that you are allowed into the kitchen again. Also I got you a box of matches which symbolizes my burning love for you”

“Love is a burning thing," Kevin softly hummed, as he lit a match on fire.

Dan blew it out. Then he pulled Kevin's face down to him and kissed him roughly.

After the kiss had stopped, Kevin kept his arms wrapped around him. He softly sang as they danced through the living room. 

“Do you take requests?”, Dan asked after the song had ended. He giggled, as Kevin dipped him.

“Only if your request is country roads," Kevin said dramatically.

“What else would it be?”, Dan asked when he was back on his feet.

They kissed again.

“Best Birthday ever," Kevin whispered.

“Oh, wait, I have one more thing for you.”

“Is this-?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Dan.”

He picked him up and spun him around.

“You are the best boyfriend ever.” He kissed his cheek. “I have to try it right now.”

Kevin put the new VR head set on and blindly started walking in what he thought was the direction of the gaming room. Dan laughed as he had to guide him, because his boyfriend refused to take the headset off.

He watched him set everything up, before Dan left to sit in front of his computer to finally get some work done.

With the comfortable background noises of Kevin being back home, Daniel managed to reply to a few E-Mails and get a bit of work done, while Kevin played with the VR headset for a bit, before he unpacked his stuff, showed him some presents he got and also filled the washing machine with mostly the wrong combination of stuff but whatever.

“I’m kidnapping you," Kevin said when it finally was their usual bedtime.

Dan giggled when Kevin picked him up from the chair like he had done it many times before.

And like every other time, Daniel replied: “You kidnap me to bring me to the bedroom?”

“Yes.”

“What a waste of kidnapping," Dan said, as he got pinned to the mattress. 

“Let me get you pregnant.”

“Kevin!” Dan giggled so hard he almost couldn’t breathe.

Kevin took the glasses from the nightstand and put them on his face.

“I think we should get married before I carry your children," Dan joked.

They stared at each other.

There was something strange in Dan’s eyes. Was he really joking or did he want-

Kevin opened his mouth and closed it again. Was he…

No. Not like that. This was not romantic enough.

“Sounds …fair," Kevin finally nodded, trying desperately to seem like he wasn’t panicking.

And Dan seemed to want to add something as well.

They watched each other for a moment longer.

“I want at least twenty children from you," Kevin finally said and Dan laughed again. Then he bit his lips, looking up to him. 

“…Where is your new hat? You promised to wear it," Kevin changed the subject.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know, what you think.  
> It really helps me write. 
> 
> But either way I hope you are having a lovely day or night.  
> And thank you for reading.
> 
> ....and I wanna remind everyone that we are just here to have fun. And what happens on this side should stay on this side.  
> Remember we are a wholesome cult and we don't want to make anyone uncomfortable.


	27. lights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huuuuuuge thank you to insidemybrain for giving me the idea for this chapter!!
> 
> By the way for those who were wondering: Kevin’s reason (in irish) was ‘You like soup‘ (=Is maith leat anraith.)

“BEST BIRTHDAY EVER”, Kevin yelled as they entered the Laser Tag Arena.

Technically it was now Emma's birthday, since hers was three days after Kevin’s. And it also was Meredith’s birthday -or maybe her birthday had been the day before. He didn’t know her very well, since she was mainly Martha's friend.

But it had been Martha's idea to go there, because she wanted to gift the three of them a present they all would enjoy and each of them had been allowed to bring their friends.

They had to wait in a waiting room before they would be allowed to enter the main Arena, until the group before them was finished. There was one bench and some chairs scattered around. On the floor were some chocolate bar plastic wrapping from the groups who went before them. All five children shared two chairs. And also Dan had to sit on Kevin's lap so everyone could have a place to sit, while they were waiting. Some lights were blinking from the ceiling and changed colours every few seconds. 

Blue Purple Red Orange Yellow Green Cyan Blue Purple….

After paying and also talking to the staff person, a very average guy in all aspects in his mid thirties, Martha came back to the group of children, elderly people and lads and clapped her hands loudly. Everyone went quiet immediately. “Okay, you have to divide into three groups and each group gets to chose a group name. Also each individual gets to chose a username.”

She looked at the group. The five kids were watching her quietly. They were wearing all black clothes, since they had decided it would strengthen group morals, and make them harder to spot. She vaguely remembered the kids’ names Cassady, Noah, Bo and Jamie, but she couldn’t recall which name belonged to which kid.

James sat alone on a chair a little bit further away from the rest of the lads and typed something on his phone. Dan and Kevin shared a chair, Dan having to sit on the lap of his taller boyfriend, who had his arms wrapped around his waist to stop him from sliding down. They whispered and giggled together. Brian was squished between Daithi and Martha's friend Meredith, and was currently trying to convince his friend, that fried potatoes were superior to mashed potatoes and it was clear that Daithi just wanted to get him mad. Maybe he found it cute when his friend got mad. Who knew. Either way neither of them seemed to be very much bothered by having to sit so close to each other.

Martha's other friends Claire and Elisabeth were also sitting on this bench. The ladies were dressed with queenlike costumes, each in a different pastel colour, and all wearing a hat with flowers on them. The fifth member of their group, Juan, was wearing a grey suit and was also currently telling James something about video games from the nineties.

Soon a tablet was handed around and everyone could choose a username.

“Username 1, 2, 3 and 4 are already taken by Martha's friends," Kevin stated, heartbroken.

“Then chose ‘Kevin‘ or something. I don’t know," Brian said.

“K 3 W 1 Z," Kevin spelled.

“This time you are really close. Well done," Daithi said.

Kevin nodded proudly.

Martha laughed when she saw the weird look on the staff persons face. “Prepare for chaos. It’s scorpio season.”

The staff person gulped. 15 pairs of eyes stared at him in anticipation.

There were three groups. Martha and her friends Meredith, Elizabeth, Claire and Juan were the first group to decide for a group name, calling themselves the AA Bookclub. 

When one of the kids asked for the meaning of that name, they told them it stood for Assassins Anonymous.

Emma and her friends Cassie, Noah, Bo and Jamie agreed to call themselves the Firecrackers.

The lads, which meant Dan, James, Brian, Daithi and Kevin chose the name group 3. 

“I voted ‘Natural selection'," Elisabeth said.

“I voted for ‘hungy hunters'," Brian said, “But everyone always does, what Kevin says.”

“He has the potential to be a cult leader doesn’t he?” She said it in a voice that suggested she was already considering to adopt him as her third grandson.

“Oh lit! We get to chose colours, too?”, one of the children asked.

“So kids, are you choosing the colour three or seven?” Kevin pointed at green and then at blue.

“Kevin-”

The children looked at him in confusion.

“What the fock are you doing?”, Daithi asked.

“It’s a social experiment," Kevin whispered.

“Lovely," James said, but it didn’t seem like he was paying much attention anymore. he was staring at his phone.

“I think the children would need to be a bit younger for that kind of experiment," Elizabeth stated.

“Then it’s about fecking time we get our own," Kevin said and nudged Dan.

“We are not going to live in sin-”, his boyfriend answered quietly with a weird smile.

They shared a look. 

The small box was in Kevin's bag. 

He couldn’t ask him there and then in that sticky dark room.

Then they noticed, that the other group before them had started leaving, so the lads stood up to discuss their strategy.

“Everyone choose a partner. I’m choosing Dan. Brian, you could go with Daithi. James, you are on your own.”

“But-”, Brian started.

“James, are you okay with going on your own?”, Dan asked.

No reaction.

“…James?”, Daithi asked.

James looked at them in confusion. 

“Huh?”

“We are talking about our strategy.”

He finally put his phone away. “Okay, to get this right, we need to be professional for once," James said, lastly at least giving the impression, he was actually awake.

“We are always professional," Daithi said.

“Right. Let’s synchronize our watches.”

Kevin stared at his watch. Then he stared at James. “The battery has been dead for two weeks.”

“Don’t look at me, I never wore a watch in my life," Dan said.

“Time is fake and nothing matters," Brian said.

“You guys are the worst," Daithi said as he synchronized his watch with James's.

Then everyone got a weird glowing vest handed, that had to count how many times everyone got shot with a laser. Each group would get a vest glowing in a different colour.

Martha's friends discussed their strategy not far from them.

Then they heard Claire say loudly: “That is a terrible, horrible, incredibly foolish idea. Let’s do it and see what happens.”

“Oh no," Dan whispered.

“This doesn’t sound good. Do you have any other ideas?”, Daithi asked.

“I’m gonna use a lighter to save ammo.”

“Kevin, give me the lighter," Dan said.

“No.”

~~~

“Okay, who needs to use the bathroom before we start?”, the staff person asked in a bored tone.

No one moved as it got quiet again. The staff person looked around.

“Are you sure?”, he asked again.

Kevin and Daithi reluctantly raised their hands.

“Alright. bathrooms are over there.”

While the two lads left, Brian sat down on a chair close to Dan.

“Hey, man, how’s it going?”

“Good. …good.”

“…How are things with Daithi?”

Brian took a deep breath and then he just started talking without taking another one in the progress of letting everything out: “We had that conversation and he realized, that something was wrong and that I was ...sad. But I didn’t tell him why. And then the next day, Nogla was there and he had that dog and I was like: ‘You don’t want me to be sad, so you gift me a dog?' And that guy actually said: ‘Incorrect. I gift you two dogs.' And then I saw the other dog and I asked why and he said: ‘Because you don’t seem like a cat person.' I mean. It’s true and I had wanted to adopt a dog for a long time and I had already bought bowls and blankets and some toys. And then we went together to buy some dog food and we took them for a walk and-” He shook his head. “They are going to leave so much hair everywhere and I love them.” 

Dan couldn’t hide a smile. “This is so adorable.”

~~~

“Kevin, could you give me some advice regarding a very specific problem?", Daithi said from a stall, while Kevin was already washing his hands.

“Run away from your problems. Do they have legs? I didn’t think so.”

“I mean. ….Never mind.”

“You know you can always fecking talk to me.” 

Daithi made some grunting noises that barely counted as talking. 

“Can you say that again?”

It was quiet for a moment and Kevin leaned against the sink and crossed his arms, waiting for Daithi to come out. Of the stall.

While they both were silent, Kevin read the names, written on the walls. There were quite a few. Also some hearts. Some cute phrases and also something political motivated, that was too much of a gibberish to understand.

“I never met anyone like him," Daithi finally said as he opened the door. 

“I know exactly what you are talking about.” 

“I need some way to tell him about it.”

“…I have an idea.”

~~~

When the two of them came back to the group, the kids were chanting ‘soup’.

“Nooooo. Y’all need to attack Daniel. He is a villain," Kevin told the kids.

“Dan doesn’t like spiders," Daithi added.

Then everyone talked over each other, until Martha clapped her hands again and they all went silent again and looked at her. She gestured to the staff person.

“The team that gets first place will win a cake and the person who gets hit the least often gets another special surprise," the staff person said in the least exciting tone. 

One group after the other was brought to a different door to enter the labyrinth. The AA bookclub first. Then the firecrackers. Group 3 was last. The lads nodded at each other. James marched in first. There was fog and they also let music playing and lights were flickering in different colours. The music sounded vaguely futuristic with a lot of beeping sounds. 

And in the confusing lights, the groups split.

Meredith and Elisabeth attacked James from behind. They high-fived when he raised his arms in defense. 

“How is it going?”, Dan asked, when he finally found Kevin again. 

“So far I got a kill streak of 1. With some effort I might be able to double it," Kevin whispered and they hid behind another wall.

“We are not killing people here. They are just counting how often we get hit.”

“I know.”

“I love you.” Dan took his hand to make sure they wouldn’t lose each other again.

Suddenly Claire walked past them. Dan wanted to shoot at her, but Kevin held him back. The elderly woman nodded at them and disappeared behind a corner and they heard James swear. 

“There they are," they suddenly heard Emma whisper loudly.

“They found us.” 

“Don’t worry, I have a plan, Dan.” 

-And then he used him as a human shield, wrapping one arm around him while shooting at the kids, when the firecrackers managed to attack them from three sides. There was something like a small cabin, Kevin managed to pull his boyfriend in. 

“You used me as a human shield.” Dan pushed him against the wall, and it was surprisingly hard. 

“You are taking this too seriously," Kevin said between fits of laughter.

“Don’t act like you are not just trying to win the special prize," Dan said dramatically as he pushed him again, this time more playful.

“Dan, I can explain.”

“Convince me not to shoot you right now," Dan whispered. His smile seemed to be teasing, but there was a fire burning in his eyes. 

“We are soulmates," Kevin whispered after a pause in which he couldn’t decide if Dan was joking. he slowly stepped closer again.

“How would you know?” 

“That’s how I know.” He took his hand again. Kevin slowly pulled Dans hand to his lips and gave it a kiss and it made both their hearts race. “You are the best fecking thing that could ever happen to me, Dan. Every morning when I wake up and we hold each other, I-”, he stopped as he got lost in his eyes. Gently, he brushed his hair out of his face. And suddenly Dan pushed him against the black wall and kissed him violently, pressing his body against him. They stifled a moan, not wanting the others to hear them. 

“I love you," Dan whispered against his mouth. 

“I love you, too.” 

Dan let go of him and stepped back. 

He smiled. 

Then he shot him. 

“Dan! I can’t believe you’ve done this.”

And suddenly Dan was being attacked from several sides. He took many direct hits, until Kevin managed to get him out of there.

“Don’t worry. This was part of the plan," Kevin said, completely out of breath, but smiling.

“I can never stay mad at you because of that stupid smile of yours," Dan whispered before he kissed the again. This time very softly.

Then he broke the kiss to shoot at Meredith.

~~~

Meanwhile Martha and her friends Juan and Claire were attacking the rest of the lads. The seconds were dragging themselves across the floor like a wounded animal while Daithi was protecting Brian and also three of the kids. Brian gestured for the kids to run and stood next to Daithi to shoot at Juan and Claire.

Then suddenly one of the children shot at Daithi from behind, but he thought he was Brian, stepped to the side and shot back at him. They continued to hunt each other through the labyrinth, until they got cornered again by some of the kids, but they couldn’t tell which ones.

~~~

And then there was a signal to be heard, which exclaimed the end of the round.

“I don’t think we did very well," James mumbled, as he walked back to the exit with Brian and Daithi.

“Have you tried not losing?”, Meredith asked.

The rest of the AA Bookclub laughed.

A few steps to the left, Daithi said: “I’ll create a Sims character, name it Meredith and put it in the basement.”

“You play video games?”, one of the kids asked Daithi. 

“He tries to," Brian said. 

“Hey. I have more subscribers than you, Brian!” 

Dan and Kevin were the last ones to find their way back to the exit of the labyrinth. They already heard someone talking, before they could see them. “It’s not as fun to win, when someone ends up crying," Emma said. 

“I’m not crying," Brian said.

Daithi carefully patted his shoulder anyway.

“How’s it going, lads?”, James asked when he saw his friends.

“I’m having a grand old time," Dan said. 

Kevin laid an arm around his shoulders and kissed the side of his head.

“And how were you doing, lads?”, Kevin asked then.

“It wasn’t optimal," Brian said, shrugging.

“We might have lost," Daithi added.

“Get over it. That was like two minutes ago," James said, surprisingly aggressive.

“James got hit so many times," Meredith said loudly, what made them jump a little. The other group members of the AA Bookclub laughed.

“We can afford new friends," James whispered.

Suddenly the staff person stood next to them. “I’ve never seen this much friendly fire in a group,“ he murmured, looking at the statistics on his tablet.

“We are all very friendly," Brian said.

~~~

Emma and her friend Bo won the special prize. It was a ticket for another round.

While the AA Bookclub won the first prize for most hits.

And the Firecrackers for least hits taken. Probably due to them being smaller targets and also almost invisible in their black clothing in the dark. Or at least that was what Claire said.

The winner group was friendly enough to share the cake.

~~~

After that, they all ate ice cream at a near by cafe until Lauren and Noemi picked the kids up to drive them home. Then the AA Bookclub left to check out the new pub and invited the lads to join them but group 3 was too tired and generally not in the right mood to get hammered.

Soon after they were alone, the lads decided to go home.

~~~

The drive home was mostly quiet. They were very exhausted and James had a really calming way of driving. In the backseats the boyfriends held hands. Dan got a little bit squished between Kevin and Brian, but he was just glad that Daithi was sitting in the front seat, because everything else would have made things a lot more complicated.

Brian was suffering quietly. And just as quietly, Daithi was suffering.

James changed the music station every once in a while. But the silence between them was more or less comfortable.

“I’m still mad at you," Kevin said, before he held his hand anyway, “How could you shoot me?” 

“I’m sorry," Dan said and nothing more. 

“I forgive you.” He kissed the back of his hand. Dan snuggled against him, like a cat and then leaned his head against his shoulder.

~~~

James brought Dan and Kevin home first. They said their goodbyes and James continued driving to Daithis home. Brian was relieved that he didn’t have Dan’s bony elbow sticking into his stomach anymore and could breathe again and stretch his legs a bit. It wasn’t as clean anymore in the car as when James had driven them the last time somewhere. There were sticky notes on the floor, with unreadable gibberish on them. He saw a few empty cans of energy drinks and one empty coffee cup.

Suddenly when the car came to a hold in front of Daithis place and the tallest one tried to leave the car, James locked the doors.

“James,… what is that going to be when it’s finished?”, Brian asked. He unlocked his seatbelt, starting to feel like he couldn’t breathe.

“We are all thinking about the same thing," James said. He had the steering wheel clasped so tightly, that his knuckles were white. He stared at the street in front of him.

“Threesome?”, Daithi asked.

Brian sputtered.

“Admit it you were thinking it, too," Daithi said, looking over his shoulder, winking.

“I certainly wasn’t thinking about James.”

“Well, ouch," James said.

“So you were thinking-”, Daithi started and then stopped. he turned around in his seat to look directly at Brian.

“So were you…”

They stared at each other.

“I can never tell, when you are making fun or when you are serious," Daithi said, shaking his head.

Brian bit his lips but didn't reply.

James cleared his throat loudly. “Lads, I was talking about that there probably is something wrong with the cats.”

“Are they sick?”, Brian asked, worried. “Did something happen to them?”

“No. …But they ….talk," James said.

“What?”, Daithi asked.

“Last night I googled some stuff. And I found some interesting things out. Hear me out: I spend some time with the cats in the last two months and they have never talked in front of me except for that one time I got really drunk on Halloween…”

He stopped when he saw the look on his friends’ faces.

“They act very suspicious," he added, weakly.

They were quiet for a moment. Then James gave up. There was a clicky sound, when he unlocked the door and both Daithi and Brian exited the car in a hurry, slightly anxious because of their friend’s unusual behaviour.

James followed them to stand next to them on the pavement, but they kept a bit of distance to him.

“…if they can talk, it is the opposite of a problem," Daithi said, slowly.

“Yeah. I’m sure they are nice," Brian added.

“Dan wouldn’t teach his cat-children how to take over the world, if that is what you are afraid of," Daithi said.

Brian laughed shortly although it wasn’t particularly that funny. He looked up at Daithi, unable to hide a smile. Daithi smirked back.

But James crossed his arms.

“I think-”, he started, but the other two weren’t listening anymore.

Brian took Daithis hand and squeezed it gently.

“Would you like to come inside for a cup of coffe?”, Daithi asked and they both knew that Brian never drank coffee that late at night and Brian said “Yes.”

“See you, James.” Brian waved at him, shortly.

“Yeah, thanks for driving us. I’ll send you that meme I told you about.”

James leaned against the car and crossed his arms, while watching them enter the house, Daithi opening the door and then gesturing for Brian to go in first.

“Gobshites," James said between gritted teeth.

Then he got back into the car and started driving. He would solve that mystery. Even if it was the last thing he would do.

~~~

Dan picked up the mail, when they entered their home. He loved coming home. The smell of slightly burned breakfast, from when Kevin tried to surprise him again. Some games they played together scattered on the tables, Kevin's socks in places where there shouldn’t be socks, cups in all sizes on flat surfaces, pictures of them together stuck to the fridge, Dan’s legos on the floor. Sometimes Kevin would step on them, accidentally and he would complain but never get angry. Then he would make a joke and everything would be fine again. Same thing the other way around, when something in the kitchen caught fire, or when Dan found a sock on the kitchen table. They would joke about it and everything would be fine again.

Dan looked through the Mail with a soft smile. There were some bills to pay for the flat and for the cafe and- 

“You sent me a postcard?”

“There is the photo of a potato on the front," Kevin said proudly.

“This is so….” Dan shook his head. 

In the worst handwriting ever on the back of the card there was written:

_‘Greetings from Cork. The weather is nice but I miss you. There are a lot of potatoes here and my sister is stupid but we had cake._

_I love you_

_-K3v1Z’_

He hugged him. 

Kevin chuckled and rubbed his back, when Dan didn’t want to let go.

“We are probably being over dramatic again, but that’s okay," the taller one said quietly and his boyfriend nodded against his chest. 

Dan kissed him, before he put the postcard on the fridge door.

And while Kevin probably watched something in the living room, Dan sat in front of the computer for a bit and got some editing done. It was calming to hear that he was not alone. For a while he listened to Kevin walking around and moving stuff but soon he fully zoned out from the noise and completely concentrated on his task.

He jumped a little when a hand touched his shoulder.

“Dan, enough internet for today. I’m kidnapping you-”

“What a waste- Where are you bringing me?”

“Wait for it.”

“Why are you carrying me like a sack of potatoes?”, Dan chuckled. 

“The so called fireman’s lift is superior because it’s better for my back. Also: potatoes.” 

“I think I like the other one better," Dan said between giggles. Kevin was bringing him downstairs, he noticed. And the stairs were making the whole thing not easier. Dan often worried about his boyfriend’s shoulder when he carried him around but he always got reassured that he almost weight nothing.

“I read that the bridal carry is actually the least good lifting technique," Kevin said.

“Do we have an alternative to the potato technique then?” 

“Well, I’m definetly not letting you fecking walk. Today was one of the best days ever and it’s about to get even better.”

And suddenly, Dan found himself in the garden, where Kevin had prepared blankets, something to drink and candles.

Kevin lit another candle and watched the flame dance in the cold wind with a smile and with an even wider smile he looked at Dan.

“Aww, Kevin-”

“Shh.”

After he took his finger away from his mouth Kevin kissed him.

They sat down on the blanket, he had prepared and watched the stars. And then Kevin needed to bring two more blankets and their jackets, because it was actually really cold.

And one after another the clouds swallowed the stars, but Kevin wasn’t looking at them anyway. And neither was Dan. There were more exciting things to do.

“What constellations are we missing?”, Dan asked, leaning back to look up for a short moment.

“At this time of the year… we should be able to see the elephant and …the penguin …and the butterfly…”, Kevin answered between kisses, only looking at Dan. They chuckled.

Kevin brushed his hair out of his eyes and left a small kiss on his nose, before he asked: “…but do you know which one my favourite constellation is?”

“Ps1 Hagrid?”

“Ps1 Hagrid.”

They had to stupidly giggle so hard that they rolled on their backs.

Dan watched the clouds slowly cover the sky. “When people made up constellations they saw what they wanted to see.” 

“I know what I want to see...," Kevin said softly. When Dan turned his head, Kevin was looking at him. They leaned in for another soft kiss, letting it linger, before they pulled apart and Dan leaned his head against his chest again. 

“For the rest of my life," Kevin whispered. Toneless. Then they were quiet and Kevin thought, that Dan probably hadn’t heard him. He held him in his arms and ignored the sky and the coldness around him, because in his arms his boyfriend was very warm and very real. 

“Always," Dan whispered against his chest. 

“Always.”

The sky was now completely hidden behind the clouds. 

“Dan?”, Kevin asked very quietly after a while.

“Yeah?”

“Did you like this night?”

“My darling, Kevin, I just had such an amazing night with you. I- I just feel so happy with you.”

“You are so perfect," Kevin said, his voice sounding broken, as he reached for the small box in his pullovers pocket.

Dan snuggled closer to him again and whispered: “I love how you make me feel and I love being your boyfriend. I love that we are always doing these little things for each other.”

“Dan-” 

“Shh. I belong to you …I’m yours. I’m never gonna leave you and I’ll love you forever and- and I love how you never fail to make me smile and take care of me and-”

Dan kissed him, softly, running a hand through his now slightly damp hair. He softly kept whispering, while Kevins mind wandered off.

It was clear that Dan had absolutely no idea what was Kevin was trying to do there. But it wasn’t clear to Kevin either, what Dan was trying to accomplish. ‘I _love being your boyfriend’_ was that a subtle hint, he didn’t want to be more?

There was a tiny little weight sitting on his heart. Concern. It made a stitchy pain whenever he breathed.

Dan didn’t notice. He was busy covering his face with kisses between softly whispering compliments to him and Kevin hugged him as close as he could, like he was afraid he would lose him if he let go.

It got darker around them, as some fat raindrops extinguished the light of the candles surrounding them.

“It starts raining. we should go inside again," Dan said when he got a raindrop in the eye.

Kevin grabbed the box in his pullovers pocket again. He felt like he was going to break it, if he was clasping it any harder.

He got on one knee, while Dan folded the blankets.

And.

Chickened out.

Avoiding eye contact, he blew out the last candle.

He helped Dan pick everything up and bring it back inside.

~~~

In the early morning hours Kevin was wide awake, while Dan was still fast asleep. _What if Dan wanted to rather just stay his boyfriend, because he wanted to keep his options open?,_ a very ugly voice in head asked. It wasn't often that he heard this voice. But when it was there, it was meaner then all the other voices.

Dan stirred in his sleep, probably haunted by nightmares again. Kevin ran a hand through his hair very carefully, so he wouldn’t wake him. 

His boyfriends expression softened and he breathed more steadily again. 

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow -or technically it would be later that day- he would try again.

The rational part of his brain knew, that Dan wouldn’t laugh at him. That he wouldn’t hurt him on purpose. That he loved him with all of his heart. He calmed down a bit when he felt Dans cold feet against his legs.

But sometimes in the middle of the night, some thoughts got as dark as the clouds blocking the light of the stars.

He thought about the phrase “The stars need the darkness to shine.” 

_It was feck. The stars couldn’t shine if there was something in front of them. -On the other hand they would shine anyway, people just wouldn’t be able to see them._

His thoughts began to spiral again until suddenly his phone beeped.

Dan murmured something in his sleep, but didn’t wake up.

Carefully Kevin reached over him to grab his phone. The display burned his eyes and he needed a moment to adjust. 

It was six in the morning, the clock on his phone told him.

He looked through his notifications, vision still blurred.

**“The package has been sent.”**

He grinned mischievously

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed.  
> I hope next chapter will come a bit sooner, but it probably won't be as long.
> 
> Anyway. I hope you are having a lovely day or night.
> 
> Let me know what you think.  
> Y'alls comments really cheer me up and help me a lot!


	28. voices

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: for drinking and mention of death
> 
> I finally survived my exams.  
> So here is a new chapter!  
> Enjoy!

Dan and Kevin held hands, when they brought a new cat to the cafe, while Jill walked behind them carrying the box, proudly. It was a light box. Dan and Kevin listened to them telling them about their exams. The cat in the box listened, too. It would appear that it was a smart cat to the careful spectator. There had been an aura of sadness around this cat, since it had ended up in the animal shelter when its former owner had died of old age. And Dan had just known, that this cat would be a great addition to the cat family. This was the right cat for a place like that.

When they arrived at the Edge of the Universe, Jill gave the box to Dan, before they left to the kitchen to prepare the cookies and some cake. 

Kevin stayed next to Dan, buzzing with excitement. This was his favourite part of the month. They were later than usual because the schedule had gotten a bit messed up because of his birthday and the cats had wanted him to be there when they were accepting a new member to the family.

“Welcome to the family," Dan said softly.

“Welcome home," all cats said and many different voices from all corners of the room filled the air. 

The new cat looked scared.

“Everything might seem very unusual here, but you’ll get used to it very quickly," Dan said reassuringly, as he sat the cat on the floor.

“Mreooow," the new cat said quietly.

“Don’t be shy," Rose said.

“You’ll get your voice soon," Burnt Marshmallow added. 

Kevin picked her up, grunting under the weight. The cat licked his cheek. And Dan kissed his other cheek and whispered something in his ear before he went to help Jill preparing everything.

“Friends, I need to go back home to film another video, but I see you for lunch," Kevin announced. 

“This means you’ll be gone forever!”, Burnt Marshmallow said.

“Just until lunch. I’m already kinda hungy.”

“Hungy hungy," a bunch of cats started chanting and Kevin gave them some treats, after letting his favourite black cat sitting on a table.

After that, he went to the kitchen to say goodbye to Dan. 

They went back and forth between ‘I’ll-miss-you‘s so many times that Jill rolled their eyes so hard they almost fell out.

Just when he left the cafe, James grasped for the door and pushed past him. 

“Good morning, Kevin. Goodbye, Kevin," he said, hurriedly. 

“Bye, James," Kevin said, not really paying attention. 

~~~

_~Flashback last night~_

_“Let me cook a midnight snack," Daithi said._

_They had been talking about nothing in particular while drinking some cheap decaf. James had probably been judging them when he drove off, they had joked when entering the flat, but neither of them seemed to care much._

_“‘Snack’ sounds great," Brian said enthusiastically, “shall we walk to the next McDonalds?”_

_“Actually… for this special night, I have something special in mind," Daithi said, remembering his conversation with Kevin._

_Plan A, F, G -and if everything else went wrong, plan K. He really didn’t want to do plan K._

_But so far so good._

_“What is it, Nogla?”_

_“I learned it from a friend I went to school with," he replied mysteriously and started to get food out of the fridge and to place it on the table. “He was from Myanmar. And he used to make this amazing dish: khao soi. Every night before an exam-”_

_“Do you want me to film it? Our drunk cooking videos seem to be doing good," Brian asked as he already reached for his phone._

_“Don’t film me like that," Daithi laughed, covering his face with his hands._

_“You are beautiful from every angle.”_

_The taller one froze before he slowly turned around. “…Thank you.”_

_Brian got very red and started fiddling with a houseplant, located on the kitchen window._

_“Do you like my plant?”, Daithi asked nervously._

_“Yeah. It’s a good plant.”_

_They cleared their throats simultaneously._

_“Sooooo what exactly are you cooking?”, Brian asked sitting down at the kitchen table, not knowing what else to do with himself._

_“It’s basically a soup. So Kevin would hate it," Daithi mumbled._

_“Tell me more.”_

_“It’s uhhhh served widely in Myanmar, Laos and also northern Thailand. First I’m heating the oil in a wok and brown some pressed garlic together with some chopped shallots on a high flame," Daithi started to ramble, as he did just that. “Next I’ll have to add the curry paste and mix everything together for exactly- and it is important to exact for this one- 30 seconds._

_After that, I’ll have to wipe off with chicken broth and add some coconut milk and let everything simmer for a short while before I’ll add fresh chicken thighs and cook that shit over a reduced heat for about 20 minutes until everything is tender and juicy.”_

_He bit his lips, trying not to make a ‘tender and juicy‘-joke. But when Brian didn’t say anything either, he just continued rambling while still being at the first step, chopping some shallots. “Occasionally I’ll have to stir and then I’ll have to season the soup with fish sauce, sugar and soy sauce.”_

_He looked up from the chopping for a moment, to see Brian watching him with a soft smile on his face. He smiled back for a short moment and then they both looked away again. Nervously, he cleared his throat, before he continued: “While the soup is cooking, I’ll have to fry a third of my egg noodles in oil until the noodles are golden brown and have a crispy consistency. And after that, I’ll have to bring the rest of the noodles to the boiling water with a hint of salt until they are al dente, which will take approximately 1 minute and then-”_

_“Nogla, I’m hungry.”_

_“Only 20 more minutes.”_

_“Ticktock motherfucker.”_

_What Brian didn’t know was, that Daithi had desperately tried to tell him something important. And it wasn’t the recipe. But still he continued to ramble about the recipe and then about his friend from Myanmar and how he wanted to visit this place someday and see the_ St.Peter Cathedral in Pathein _or_ the Pindaya caves. _And Brian listened to him while watching him preparing the dish. And he felt more at home than ever before._

_Occasionally in the last two weeks, when they had filmed a video together, Daithi had made tea for them and they had watched some Youtube videos together and then later in the night, Brian called an uber and went home, because he had to take care of his dogs._

_This night was different._

~~~

“I got an acoustic motorbike for my birthday when I was your age," Kevin said. After he had recorded another video, he had gone back to the cafe as fast as he could.

Emma and her friends were all gathered around him, each holding a cat.

It was obvious, he had no idea how old Emma actually was.

“In other words: he got a bicycle," Dan said as he brought hot chocolate for everyone. He left a kiss in Kevin's hair, before moving on to the other tables.

First, he hadn’t spotted him, but in a corner behind a couple of two very tall girls, James sat at a table, typing furiously on his laptop.

“Hey, James," Dan said and his friend jumped, before clapping his laptop shut.

“You don’t have to be ashamed if you are watching …adult stuff. You just probably shouldn’t watch it here.”

“I’m not watching adult stuff.”

James looked distressed and Dan hesitated for a moment, before he asked: “What can I bring you? I think you might need-”

“Water.”

“…Alright," Dan said and smiled weakly, before leaving to stand behind the counter again.

“Jill! Have I already told you I’m so glad you are back," he asked, when his employee walked past him.

“You have. But you can do it again," they said, cleaning some cups.

“I’m glad you are back.”

They grinned, letting their hair fall in front of their face to hide it.

“Hey listen, have you noticed something weird about James?”

“Yes. He is watching the cats and making notes. Listen, I just finished the tea for table blue. Could you bring that over there?”

“Table blue?”

“That’s Kevin’s new system. He thinks it’s better if we use numbers for the tables," Jill said with a grin.

“And you let him do that?”

“He’s your husband," Jill shrugged.

“He’s not my husband…”, Dan said. 

“Your husband. Your problem.” Jill shrugged again and walked off.

“…yet," Dan said quietly but also somehow longingly. No one heard him.

Again, he looked over to him and his heart fluttered a little, when Kevin looked back and smiled at him. Then he grabbed the tea. 

“Why the long faces?”, he asked as he brought some tea to the table where Martha and her friends sat.

“Yesterday was the first time playing Laser Tag since Irving passed away”, Claire said quietly.

“ _May you be comforted from the heavens,"_ Dan replied and Martha nodded. 

“I never found a person who was kinder and could tell stories better than him. That’s why I never married again," Juan said.

His friends got quiet.

Dan bit his lips, searching for some comforting words.

“Also we got completely shitfaced last night," Elizabeth finally said.

“It’s what Irving would have wanted.” Juan nodded.

“A toast to Irving," Martha said and they raised their cups of tea.

They all took a small sip of the hot tea.

“The cat over there. That one is new," Martha suddenly said and with shaky fingers she pointed in the direction of a grey striped cat, which seemed quite old. Also it stood alone.

“Yes, we picked it up this morning.” Dan hurried over to the cat, picked it up and brought over to Martha. She took the cat and gave him to Juan. “Give him a name," she said and it sounded less brisk than usual. 

“I’m calling him Irving," Juan said.

He held the cat gently, petting the soft fur. 

The cat seemed happy with that name.

Then Dan had to walk over to table yellow again to collect some cups and plates.

Just now Kevin was telling the kids how to play Minecraft. They were still listening to him quietly while each one was holding a cat.

“The creepers are very hard to spot when you are in a dark cave. You can hear them approach. But in caves you can look for diamonds and gold which has the colour four," Kevin said.

Dan chuckled quietly as he brought the dishes away.

~~~

_~Flashback last night~_

_“You don’t have a friend, right?”, Brian said after the meal and some wine._

_“What?”, Daithi asked._

_“You are just trying to impress me.”_

_“What makes you think that?”_

_“The meal. The fucking candles.”_

_“What’s wrong with the candles?”_

_“Nothing?”_

_They were drunk and this was going nowhere. Brian wanted to tell him how he felt._

_And Daithi wanted to tell him how he felt._

_It was very unclear while either of them was so insecure._

_But it was just a part of being in love, to be absolutely and on hundred per cent bad at communicating._

_Furthermore, they’ve meanwhile had a fair bit of wine, which neither of them had liked but they both had drank anyway._

_“Are you flirting or trying to start a fight?”, Daithi asked._

_“Consider this: I am an idiot," Brian said quietly._

_While the floor seemed to be haking, he stood up and collected his stuff. Had it always been shaking like that?_

_“It got pretty late," Brian said as he had nothing else left to say._

_And then he left._

_He didn’t hear Daithi say: “But you are my idiot.”_

_He also didn’t know, that Daithi was up to something very stupid when only several minutes later, he put on his jacket and left the house._

~~~

_In the morning, Brian woke up with a headache._

_With a bad taste in his mouth, he opened all the windows to let fresh air in._

_He didn’t seem to remember much of the last night. Maybe things weren’t as bad as they had seemed yesterday._

_On his porch, he found a box when he came back from walking the dogs. The air had been crisp. And underneath the much too cold jacket, he was freezing. But then and there he had to open the box, while his dogs watched him._

_Inside was the Nogla!Plushie his friend had talked about for ages. He touched it and was surprised by the softness of the fabric._

_Very secretly he had to admit to himself, that it was very cute and he smiled to himself, as he entered the house again._

~~~

“10 feet. Extra deep. Thank you.” 

Brian turned the camera off with a grin. Daithi had apparently send him his own Nogla!Plushie. And of course, he had to film his dogs playing with it and loading up the video on Twitter.

And currently, his dogs were digging a hole in the garden to burry plushie!Nogla in it.

“Nogla, you need a little bath now. Don’t you?”, Brian asked when he picked him up from the ground where the dogs had left him as soon as they got distracted by a squirrel. He walked back inside and placed plushie!Nogla in the sink. 

“Wait, this is going to break your voice, right?” He carefully took a damp towel instead and cleaned plushie!Nogla as good as he could. While the doll kept blurting out various sentences.

Very carefully, he cleaned his cute little green pancake store shirt.

After that, he took the attachable toilet paper away and put the nut in his hand.

Later, after reading most of the replies to his tweet, he fell asleep on the couch with plushie!Nogla in his arm.

~~~

After the kids were picked up by their parents, Martha sat down next to Kevin.

“Have you popped the question yet?”, she asked him very directly.

“No. Not yet. 

“What are you waiting for?”

“I’m still waiting for the right moment and to be absolutely sure he likes me back”

“The lights are on but no one is home," Martha said, looking at Kevin with a soft smile.

“That’s what my mother always says.”

The elderly lady took a deep breath. “We never know when it’s time for the forever box.”

“Forever box?” 

“The moment will come. And you’ll know when it’s there," she said quietly.

He understood. Of course Martha knew. Maybe the cats had told her. Hopefully they haven’t told Dan.

“Thank you, Martha," he said.

“When I proposed to my girlfriend I had found the perfect moment and it was completely spontaneous. But. Yes she ran away. Make sure he won’t run away, too.” 

“That’s not helpful.”

“You can do it, child," she said and as she saw, that her friends were paying and starting to leave, she quickly patted his shoulder, before she left him sitting there.

Determined, he stood up. He straightened his shirt. He fixed his hair. And then he fled to the bathroom.

In the mirror, haunted eyes looked back at him.

“Feck.”

Then he heard a scratching at the door.

“Locking me out of the bathroom is a hate-crime," Burnt Marshmallow said as he opened the door a tiny bit. 

Worried, he looked around, but most guests were already gone and James was also just leaving, holding the door open for a person in a wheelchair.

Kevin let the cat in and closed the door behind them after waving at James.

“I’m just going to ask him," Kevin said.

“Then ask him.”

“No," he crossed his arms.

“Kevin…….”

“Okay. I- Feck. I’ll do it right now.”

“Go, Kevin," the black cat cheered.

Confidently he walked over to Dan and stood in front of him.

His boyfriend put the tray down, he had been holding and smiled at him.

“Hi, Kev-”

“Dan, we need to talk.”

~~~

“That is a BIG nut," the doll said.

“I know, Nogla," Brian answered. 

He was eating cereal for his very late lunch, which maybe even qualified as an early dinner but either way, it was his first meal of the day, because he hadn’t felt very well. Maybe the Twitter video had been too much. Real!Nogla hadn’t replied yet and it worried him. 

They hadn’t talked at all that day.

But at least the doll was keeping him company. _Probably even better company than Real!Nogla,_ he thought a bit bitterly.

“That is a BIG nut," Plushie!Nogla emphasized. 

He was sitting next to the huge bowl, watching him eating with empty eyes.

“Usually I don’t eat that kind of cereal, but I’m feeling particularly healthy today. …. Cereal with nuts. It’s kinda weird, isn’t it?”, Brian mumbled, between two spoon fulls of cereal with cornflakes, berries, nuts and other healthy stuff.

“I’m the swinger for the LA Lakers.”

“I’m still waiting for you to send me some fucking VIP tickets for the next game, then," Brian grinned. 

He stopped grinning when he noticed his dogs looking at him weirdly. But then he shook his head. 

Ridiculous.

He ate another spoon full.

“I shat myself when I was 7," the doll said.

This one made Brian always laugh. All their friends had seen the video of Daithi telling his famous childhood story. It had millions of views. Although a few thousand of them probably came from Brians phone.

He squeezed the doll once more, hoping to hear that sentence again.

“Help me, Brian. I’m trapped in this handsome doll," Daithis voice said, close to his ear. 

Had he just said his name? 

…That wasn’t one of the sentences, written on the box.

He lowered the spoon.

“What did you just say?” He waited for a reply, that didn’t come. Furrowing his brows, he pushed the button again. 

“Help me, Brian.” 

“Nogla?” 

“Briaaaaaan.” 

“What happened?” 

“Help me, Brian. I’m trapped in this handsome doll.” 

He jumped to his feet, almost stumbling over the chair. “David?”

“Help me, Brian.”

“Oh shit. Oh no.”

He held the doll close in shock.

“I’m sorry the dogs buried you in the garden," he whispered.

“Help me, Brian. I’m trapped in this handsome doll.”

“I’m so sorry. How could this happen? Who did this to you?”

“Briaaaaaan.”

He looked around the kitchen, not knowing what to do. He had to get help. He held the doll close while he frantically looked through the contacts on his phone.

Why in the world was Daithi the first person he called? The phone beeped and beeped and no one took the call. He called him again, starting to shake, starting to tremble and again, three times and when the mailbox answered the last time, he burst out in tears.

“I’m so sorry, David, I -I-”

“…and as always I hope ye enjoyed," Plushie!Nogla said.

When Brian could see clearly again, he picked up the phone from the ground. He must have dropped it.

“Oh fuck.”

~~~

At the Edge of the Universe, Kevin put on his bravest face, and pulled Dan into the backroom, while Jill was serving the last guests.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Did something happen?”, Dan asked as he watched Kevin standing in front of him, arms hanging down loosely on his sides. 

“Nothing happened," Kevin said and then he opened and closed his mouth like a fish a few times. Dan waited patiently. 

“Here are flowers," Kevin finally managed to state.

There was a vase with fresh flowers on the table next to them. A mix of pink and yellow and white and black and red, because Kevin had panicked at the flower shop, when he was told the different meanings of the colours. 

Carefully, Dan ran a finger over a delicate leaf. In the background, there was some slow music playing.

“You are amazing," Kevin said, not knowing where else to start.

Dan waited for him to continue, looking up at him and as he noticed, that he was trembling, he took both his hands.

“I can’t tell you enough how much I appreciate you," Kevin said very softly.

Without hesitating, Dan hugged him and when he leaned back to look him in the eyes again, he said: “I appreciate you, too. Everything you do for me, all the work you put in just to make me happy and to make sure that I’m good. Kevin, you really are the best thing that could happen to me and I will never find anybody like you and I don’t want to find anyone else.”

Kevin's voice broke. “Dan, please-”

“You are just perfect for me in every single way. You make me feel some kind of way. I enjoy your company and that we spend all this time together. And we never get sick of each other. You are just in incredible person. You are so perfect and I love your perfect body and those beautiful eyes. It’s really impossible to stay mad at you.”

Dan's eyes were full of love and adoration, when he looked up at Kevin and Kevin took a deep breath, hand in his pocket, firmly clasping the box -now or never- but Dan was still talking. “I love you so much. You are such a good boyfriend to me. I want to cover your body with -” He noticed Kevin's expression had changed. The taller one took a step back. His eyes tried to tell him something.

 _*Do you really just want me as your boyfriend or why do you keep saying this every time I’m trying to tell you that I want to be more or am I just being paranoid, feck I-*_

But Kevin never opened his mouth and just stared at him and Dan could sense that something was wrong but he didn’t know what.

“Kevin?” Then his phone rang and they flinched back. “Oh. It’s Brian.”

“Oh.”

“Did you want to tell me something, Kev?”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too," Dan said and gave him a quick but passionate kiss on the lips, running a hand through his hair. Then he stepped back and it felt very difficult to Kevin to let go of him.

And while Kevin just stared at him, his eyes went back to the phone in his hand.

“I better take this," Dan said, slowly and Kevin just nodded, biting his lips in silence.

He gave him one last worried glance before he left him standing there.

~~~

As Dan left through the door, Burnt Marshmallow slipped in.

“Did it work?”, she asked softly.

Kevin slowly slid to the floor and the cat sat down in his lap as he took the ring out of the box and showed it to her.

“It tingles in the eyes," the cat said.

“I don’t have the courage to give it to him.”

“It’s beautiful and you are the second-best human I know. He won’t say no.”

“Maybe I should give it to you instead.”

“I say no. But he won’t. Kevin, don’t be a fecker?” The cat wasn’t entirely confident about the meaning of the last word, but Kevin seemed to understand.

“You are right.” His voice sounded stronger again, but still he sat on the floor. 

“You should go and see him.”

“Wait, I got some treats for you," Kevin said and got some treats out of his trousers pocket.

~~~

“Dan, please come over.” 

Brian sounded so strange. He had never heard him sound like that.

“What happened?” 

“Daithi is trapped in a doll. The one from the Twitter video. He is in there and he is calling for me and I don’t know how to help him and he is not answering my calls and he-”

“Calm down-”

“I won’t fucking calm down. Some magic bullshit happened to my best friend and I need to help him. James said you might know something because of the cats or something I don’t know. I don’t care what kind of stuff there is going on there with you and that place, I just want David back. I just want my friend back.”

“Breathe, Brian-”

“If I breathe any more I’ll fucking-”

“I’ll come over- Kevin, Rose and I will be there in half an hour.”

“Okay.”

“Everything will be fine.”

“Okay.”

He could hear Brian taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down. Then he hung up.

“I have to talk to Rose. Oh god oh fuck," Dan whispered to himslef, hiding his face behind his hands for a moment.

“I think Rose is outside for her evening stroll," Detective Mittens said.

“She is what?”

~~~

Brian sat on the cold kitchen floor, sniffling, clasping the Nogla!Plushie tightly.

“I’m so sorry. For everything I did and everything I didn’t do," Brian whispered.

“Briaaaaaan. Briaaaaan.” 

The doll stared at him with empty eyes. It smelled and felt like a doll but Noglas voice was so recognizable, yet so mechanic.

“I love you, David. I’m so sorry.” Brian cried. 

~~~

“Kevinnn! Brian and Daithi need us!”, they heard Dan yell.

“Oh, feck. Hold it.”

Kevin said and held the ring in front of Burnt Marshmallow.

The cat took it between her teeth. Just at the right moment, as Dan entered the room.

“Dan, what happened?”, Kevin asked and his voice sounded flat.

“Something happened to Daithi.”

“What happened?”

“He’s trapped inside his plushie. You need to get me a lighter, a bottle of whiskey, a potato, a spoon and … a scissor. Meanwhile, I need to find Rose," he counted on his fingers, almost stumbling over the words.

When Dan left the room, Kevin looked over to his favourite cat. She had left his lap to hide under the table. Then he held his hand open in front of Burnt Marshmallows face.

The cat glanced up at him, ears hanging.

Both waited.

“Did you swallow it?”, Kevin finally asked.

The cat didn’t reply.

“Fecking hell!”, he said as he jumped back to his feet.

“I’m sorry.”

“I need to take you to the vet. Feck!”

“I will not go. I can no longer thrive in this household. I will pack my bags and leave.”

“Feck. I need the ring back," Kevin said as he didn’t know what else to say.

“Oh, father doesn’t love Burnt Marshmallow anymore," Sir Fecker the Third whispered. He had been sleeping in one of the cardboard boxes at the other end of the room.

“Now you are just trying to make me feel bad," Kevin said. 

The black cat hesitated. “…Go to dad. I won’t pack my bags, okay?”

“Okay.” Kevin was completely overwhelmed and he left the room, his steps heavy, his thoughts stumbling over one another.

“Kevin, what are you doing? We have to hurry up," Dan yelled at him. And the three last guests looked at them weirdly, before they left. Jill hid their face, frowning, as they cleaned a table close by. Dan wanted to scream again-

“You need to help me find Rose, I-”

But his boyfriend crossed his arms and leaned against table violet.

“We need to get going immediately. Maybe it’s already too late," Dan said, emphasizing every word.

“Things are not how they seem to be,” Kevin said flatly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was loads of fun to write.  
> Please let me know what you think is going to happen next. I'm very curious. 
> 
> Any form of feedback is appreciated.
> 
> Thank you for reading this far. It means a lot to me.  
> And thank you for your patience. This month was very chaotic.
> 
> Please, do let me know your thoughts and opinions.
> 
> And I'll be back soon because as you know, I don't like leaving you on a cliffhanger.


	29. Don't stab

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I didn't let you wait for too long.
> 
> This chapter is also going to be a bit of a rollercoaster but be assured that everything will be fine eventually.

There was a knock at the door.

Brian dropped the doll when he opened it and saw who stood in front of him with half a smile and a raised eyebrow.

“I thought I lost you,” Brian said hoarsely.

“Ye are never going te lose me,” Daithi replied and picked Plushie!Nogla up from the floor. 

“You are the worst person ever.”

“But ye still love me.”

Brian didn’t know how to reply to that.

“In my defence, it was Kevin’s idea,” Daithi added slowly.

“Why did the two of you think it would be a good idea?”

Neither of them had thought it would be a good idea. But then they had agreed that any idea was better than no idea at all.

“…In * _our_ * defence we were left unsupervised.”

“It’s better to let someone think you are an idiot than to open your mouth and prove it,” Brian said under his breath.

“Are ye flirting with me or are you trying to start a fight?” Daithi grinned, half amused.

“I don’t know.”

The taller one stepped closer again, reaching out and Brian got very white. He stood very close to Daithi, looking up to him. Finally, he saw all the longing and the pining from all those years in Daithi's eyes, so tired from hiding.

“I’ve got two hands…and … you’ve got two hands and maybe we can like... put them together…. and interlock our fingers…..? Only if ye want to, uhm...Brian…”

“Interlocking fingers?” Brian raised a shaking hand and Daithi carefully took and held it. They stood like that for a while, just staring at each other.

“I can’t believe you’ve done this, though,” Brian said.

“It was a horrible idea and I’m very sorry,” Daithi replied honestly.

“You are a a a- I’ll come back to you when my brain is functioning again.”

“I think it’s funny that you hate me now,” Daithi chuckled. Brian, on the other hand, was still in shock and not entirely sure what the right way to react could be. They stood in silence for another minute.

“How will we go on now?”, Brian finally asked, shaking his head.

“We’ll figure it out together.”

"Together," Brian nodded.

And then they finally hugged.

~~~

“Daithi is fine, Dan,” Kevin said, holding both of Dan's arms to steady him.

“You don’t know that.”

“Yes, I know.”

“Kevin, now is not the time for that.”

Then Kevin's phone beeped loudly and he manoeuvred Dan to sit on a chair, while he fished his phone out of his pocket. He took a quick look and then held it right in front of Dan's nose.

“I’m with Brian now and you are a gobshite,” Dan read out loud.

“See? It was all a plan to get Brian to understand how much he actually means to Daithi. The doll got a second chip that only starts working after some time has passed. So first there are the normal recordings-”, Kevin started to explain. Then he waved for Jill to bring Dan a glass of water.

Jill seemed a bit upset, but Kevin didn’t know about what and Dan took the glass and grasped it firmly without drinking. Around them the cats got quiet. Meanwhile, all guests had left and it was just the cats and the three humans.

Kevin added slowly: “We knew Brian would do something like letting the dogs play with the doll. And then-”

“But you knew, Kevin. You knew they both have a crush on each other. Brian had been sleeping on our couch for weeks, crying his eyes out because he thought, Daithi didn’t love him back and you-”

“But they needed to talk! Otherwise, they wouldn’t have talked about it! Something needed to happen.”

“Something needed to happen…,” Dan repeated slowly. 

“Yes! Without talking to each other-” Kevin stopped. Then he sighed.

Talking. 

It was a bit ironic, that that had been coming from him.

Without any sign of warning, Dan threw the water in Kevin’s face. “You _*are*_ a gobshite.”

“What?”

“You are an idiot for hurting our friends like that. They could have found each other without going through a traumatic experience. I’ve never heard Brian being scared like that,” Dan hissed.

“I- I didn’t think, Brian would freak out like that. I just wanted to fecking help!”

At that moment Jill brought him a paper towel.

“He just wanted to help. And anyway: Your friends just twittered that they are a couple, now. Plan K has worked!”, they said.

“You knew about this ‘plan‘?”, Dan asked.

Jill nodded. “The cats have told me.”

“You talked to the cats?!”

“Of course,” Jill replied.

“Guys…,” Dan said, looking around accusingly. “You can’t just talk to people-”

“Jill isn’t people. Jill is family,” Sir Fecker the Third said.

The other cats made supportive noises.

“I never told anyone, Dan, and I’m not going to,” Jill said quietly, hurt by Dan’s reaction. They hadn't expected this lack of trust.

“This place is going to get into real danger if more people find out,” Dan said angrily. He looked at the cats and then back at Jill, crossing his arms.

Jill flinched.

“Can we go back to being mad at me, please?”, Kevin asked and laid a comforting arm around Jill's shoulders as he saw tears forming in their eyes.

“Plan K was my idea,” Schrödinger suddenly said.

“No. Plan K was my idea,” Burnt Marshmallow said.

“It was my idea,” Rose and George said at the same time.

“Plan K was my idea,” Irving said.

“You weren’t even here, yet,” Dan said and the cat stepped back. But others stood protectively in front of him.

“Plan K was my idea,” Jill said after using the paper towel themselves, wiping their eyes and cleaning their nose. They took a step forward and Kevin let go of them. Dan stepped back.

And then the rest of the cats started to join.

“Plan K was my idea.”

“You are a horrible family,” Dan said. He sounded very exhausted.

“But we are _*your*_ family,” Kevin said.

~~~

“Who would have thought talking to each other would solve our problems?”, Daithi asked with a chuckle. 

They were holding hands while walking Brian's dogs together through the neighbourhood. After about half an hour they had got completely lost. But it didn’t matter. Brian never wanted this walk to end.

“We should have done this talking-thing a lot earlier,” Brian said with the biggest smile in the world.

“Yeah. Why do people never just talk to each other?”

“Yeah. Stupid.”

They laughed. In the distance, the sun disappeared behind the horizon and the retreating clouds promised a clear night.

~~~

Dan was lying on his stomach in bed in the evening when he tried to think of three nice things that happened to him that day. This day was a bit harder than the days before because he was still upset at his family's- and especially Kevin’s behaviour. What hurt most, probably was that Kevin hadn’t talked with him about it. That they hadn’t made a plan together. That his whole * _family_ * had made a plan without him. Shit.

Kevin sat up next to him with Burnt Marshmallow at his feet, holding them warm.

“I don’t know which side it will come out of,” the cat had whispered to him when Dan had been closing the cafe and Kevin had come to the conclusion, that it probably would be the best if he was there whenever the expensive ring came out. 

And now he was glad that the cat was with them, filling the otherwise awkward silence with purring sounds.

“We promised to never go to bed mad at each other,” Kevin said quietly.

“I’m not mad at you,” Dan replied without looking at him.

“Okay.”

“I’m disappointed. I’m disgusted. I’m ….sad. How could you think this would be a good idea.”

“I don’t know,” Kevin answered softly.

Dan sighed and put the diary away and Kevin frowned as he also put his glasses back on the nightstand. And the pen with the book. He had written four words. _*Soup, soup and soup*_ because that was what he was going to eat for lunch for the rest of the week.

“Kevin…,” Dan said, shaking his head.

“I don’t usually think and you know that,” Kevin tried to make a joke, as he took his hand. His boyfriend wanted to pull back first, but he also didn’t want to. 

“I know,” Dan said and Kevin couldn’t tell if he was still disappointed.

“It all turned out fine,” Burnt Marshmallow said and started to purr louder.

Dan just nodded and then he wrapped his arms around him and leaned his head against his shoulder. Kevin kissed his forehead.

“He just wanted to help,” Burnt Marshmallow added.

“I know,” Dan whispered.

They listened to the raindrops knock against the windows for a while.

Suddenly Kevin noticed Dan chuckling quietly.

“What?”, the taller one asked.

“You made Brian believe, Daithi got turned into a doll.”

Kevin looked at him in surprise, before and after Dan pulled him closer to kiss him.

“I also made _you_ believe, that I turned Daithi into a doll.”

“This can absolutely happen. And if it happens, you really need to act quick. And…” He shook his head, still in disbelieve.

He gave him another long kiss.

“Get a room, you two,” Burnt Marshmallow said.

They ignored the cat, continuing to kiss each other.

“Okay, _I’ll_ get a room,” the cat said and jumped down from the bed to go to the kitchen instead.

~~~

Three-quarters of an hour later, as Kevin was slowly drifting off to sleep, he suddenly felt Dan squeezing his arm: “Kevin, are you awake?”

“No. We can do this again, tomorrow morning. But now…,” Kevin mumbled into his hair.

“I think there is someone in here,” Dan hissed.

“Maybe it’s the cat,” Kevin said, only opening one eye.

“No, I’m here,” the voice of Burnt Marshmallow came from under the bed.

Then there was the sound of something getting knocked over and a quiet curse.

“You stay here,” Kevin said.

“But-,” Dan started but his boyfriend put a finger on his lips and gave him a look.

Suddenly Kevin loudly yelled something in simlish. Then he jumped out of the bed and started running.

Dan waited a few painful minutes before he followed him. Kevin was walking around the living room, looking under the couch, opening drawers and cupboards. Then Dan stood next to him. “You’ll catch a cold if you keep standing around naked,” he said. Quickly, he brought a jacket and hung it over Kevin's shoulders. But it was warm in their flat and Kevin didn’t bother to close it.

Kevin had often joked about having the right side of the bed so he could protect Dan in case of a burglary. But now there was nothing Dan wanted more than for Kevin to be safe.

“Did they steal anything?”, Dan asked looking around.

“Doesn’t seem like it. We might have scared them away just in time. They haven’t been in the gaming room yet. They went in and out that window. I fixed it, but I'll have to take another look at it tomorrow,” he said and then he yawned.

Dan wrapped his arms around Kevin from behind and leaned his chin against his right shoulder.

“Come back to bed,” he mumbled.

“Did you hear that?” Kevin stepped to the side, away from Dan, to look out of the window facing the garden.

“What?”

“They are still in the garden. I’ll get them.” Kevin started running.

“Kevin! No!” Dan yelled and it sounded weirdly high pitched, but his boyfriend didn't listen. Of course, he didn't. Dan felt tears forming in his eyes.

From the doorstep, Dan watched horrified how his half-naked boyfriend tackled the masked person to the ground. They fought.

“Kevin! He has a knife!”

Before Dan knew what he was doing, he was next to them and grabbed the burglar's shoulder to pull him away from his boyfriend. The person cried out like they were losing their arm. Dan hadn’t felt this angry in a long time. He punched their face and their chest and their stomach and he kicked them. 

Somehow he managed to get a hold of the knife and held it to the burglar's throat. He felt blood running over his fingers. Warm and sticky.

“What do you want?”, he yelled as he pinned them to the ground.

He stared in the horrified eyes behind the ski mask. Dan raised the knife again and before he could- Kevin picked him up. 

“Dan calm down! Hey,” he yelled as he held him, while the burglar slowly crawled away, disappearing between trees and bushes and darkness.

“He is getting away,” Dan screeched.

“Let him get away. Dan. Dan, look at me.”

He looked at him, letting himself fall into his arms and Kevin held him.

“You can’t …just kill people,” he whispered. “You almost killed him.”

“No one is allowed to hurt you,” Dan said between sobs. He was shaking, unable to stop crying.

It seemed like it was getting more dark around them. The air was like ice. Then it started to snow.

“Dan, look at me. I don’t have a single scratch. Breathe. Dan.”

“Kevin.”

Kevin gently wiped the tears off Dan's face. His skin felt cold.

“There is a line you shouldn’t cross,” he said softly.

“Not when it's about you,” Dan said and closed his eyes again, leaning against his boyfriend.

“Nothing got stolen. The guy only got hurt a little. Everything will be fine. Please, let's go back inside before the neighbours call the police,” Kevin said, but he could feel Dan shaking his head.

Maybe it was also the coldness. The wind was tugging at their jackets and Dan shivered. His lungs were hurting from all the screaming.

_Before his inner eye, Dan saw himself standing at that cursed cliff again. Kevin in the grass motionless. Jim Pickens in front of him. Mocking him. The gun in his hand, heavy._

“Come back inside,” Kevin said softly again.

When Dan didn't react, he just picked him up and half-carried him upstairs again.

Back in the bedroom, Kevin threw both their jackets on the floor next to the bed. Then he wrapped the blanket around Dan and held him closely, trying to warm him.

Burnt Marshmallow cuddled against their legs, after jumping on the bed.

“What happened?”, she asked.

“We found the burglar and scared them so much that they will never burgle again,” Kevin answered, trying to sound cheerful.

“Okay,” the cat replied, sensing that it wouldn’t be a good idea to keep asking questions.

~~~

Kevin had been lying awake for a while when he noticed Dan trying to hide his sobs again.

“Dan? Are you still awake?”

There was quiet for a moment, then Dan asked: “Yeah. Why?”

“Just checking if you are okay.”

“I’m far away from being okay, to be honest.” 

_Still, was he standing at that cliff, shaking, as the wind tugged at his clothes. Jim Pickens had disappeared in the darkness and Kevin was in the grass in front of him. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up._

_Kevin opened his eyes and_ took his hand.

Dan opened his eyes, too.

“Tomorrow, when we wake up, I’ll make tea and pancakes and everything will be alright,” Kevin said and carefully rubbed the back of his hand with his thumb.

Dan snuggled against his chest and didn’t reply.

_He was awake and he was fine and he was safe._

Kevin kissed his forehead before he said: “Once upon a time there was a rat boi-”

“A what?”

“Shhh,” Kevin said softly and ran a hand through his hair and with the other arm he held him close. “A rat boi is a boi with and a bucket full of rats. To be more precise, he was a young Irish boi and all he had was his bucket full of rats. But he also had a dream. The dream to be the King of England one day.”

“Kevin?”, Dan whispered.

“Yes?”

“Thank you.”

“So he was born in Munster and soon he would make his way to the sea. But there were some evil men out there who would do everything in their power to stop that from happening…”


	30. kings and even more kings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is just them being cute and Kevin telling a story.  
> Plotwise nothing is happening.
> 
> You can absolutely skip this chapter and you probably should, if you haven't watched their crusaders kings III Stream yet.
> 
> Also it's my contribution to day 2 of soulmate September.  
> Prompt: The soulmates have a curse on them until they meet each other.

_“So he was born in Munster and soon he would make his way to the sea. But there were some evil men out there who would do everything in their power to stop that from happening…_

_Rat boi was cursed to carry a bucket of rats anywhere he went._

_Cursed until he would find his soulmate._

_But Rat Boi had other things on his mind. And his bucket of rats wasn’t going to stop him._

_He sailed for many days and nights. Always his bucket with him.”_

“What did Rat Boi look like?”

_“He was very tall. So tall he could always reach the top shelf. And he was very handsome. Grey-blue eyes. His hair was a bit curly and his fangirls would argue for hours if it had the colour of red or blond or dark blond. On older pho- I mean paintings his hair would look more blond but actually-”_

Kevin had to stop because Dan was giggling too much.

Then he cleared his throat and continued. _“Norway had been in a war with Dublin until the king ended up behind bars._

_Rat boi had no fear storming all of his people storming the castle of Dublin. They saved the king of Dublin whose name was RT._

On the _25th of May 1067, he killed a two-year-old. At the same time across the isle, RTs sibling went to jail. RT tried to save him but he got executed and-”_

“What did the RT stand for?”

_“The R probably stood for Richard I guess. He was less tall but also a very handsome man. He had very pretty eyes and hazelnut fluffy hair. He was as beautiful as the light of the great Fecker. And he was just ...the sweetest person you could imagine.  
_

_He sailed West for a while._

_Then he murdered a nine-year-old because … he had been in his way._

_But he was too late and there already was another heir._

_'Oh, please. A King is never late.', RT said. Then he threw his hair back and walked in his high heel high thighs down the-”_

“What was RTs Curse?”

_“He must close every door he walked through, even if there are people behind him.”_

“That’s not that bad of a curse.”

_“In his opinion it was. Anyway. He wrote a letter to Rat Boi, thanking him for saving his life._

_Rat Boi had never before gotten a thank-you-letter and he was completely baffled. His handwriting was very pretty and he put the letter in a frame in his room._

_It had been enough to give him a tiny crush on him. And that was why he started to send the heads of their enemies in boxes, wrapped in beautiful ….wrapping paper. They were like love letters -just that they were heads of dead people._

_Years later Rat boi became the petty king of Munster because … Desmond was too small. The important thing is that he started all of this with just a bucket if rats.  
_

_As Rat Boi kept sending boxes, RT started to fall for him and started to reply with sweet letters and poems and all that cute feck.”_

“What kind of poems?”

_“Poems like:_

_‘Roses are red,_

_violets are actually violet,_

_let’s feck.’”_

Dan chuckled again.

_“Time went by and Rat Boi attacked Glamorgan in South Wales. Glamorgan became Irish._

_Dait- I mean King David became English when they landed in Desmond. His curse, by the way, was that he was compelled to repeat the last word of each sentence he said 3 times, each time speaking a little bit softer than the last._

_King Terrorisers curse was some weird immortality feck by the way, but we’ll come back to that._

_Then different parts of Ireland came together to kill King William._

_King RT killed Williams wife and Rat boi his child. And still, they haven’t met yet, both now being now in the same country but keeping to miss each other by chance._

_King Jack killed the following two Kings of England._

_…King Jacks curse was a funny one: He found a wooden spoon in his bag or pocket. Every time he retrieved an item he found another wooden spoon. Every time he investigated an area he found another wooden spoon. If he intentionally attempted to locate, retrieve, or use a spoon the task was impossible. Luckily he had found his soulmate very young. …and it stopped._

_Then it came to a fight between King Terroriser and King David._

_'I cannot be slain via betrayal,', said King Terroriser with a sword in his stomach, held by King David. 'My immortality is conditional on betrayal, but I’m afraid you have the legends the wrong way around. Only a true enemy can kill me, and you have never been an enemy of mine. Not even now.' And then they started making out._

_And on the 25th of July 1092 Irish Munster became Lappland and_ _Santa Claus was coming to Cork. It was Christmas for several years and_ _Ke- I mean Rat Boi had kept sending packages and letters and gifts to King RT and over their correspondence, they had fallen madly in love._

_One day in an Irish Pub there suddenly stood King RT in front of Rat Boi. His eyes were shining brightly in the light of the flickering candles. He looked astonishing.  
_

_'We’re off to kill the king, want to join?', he asked Rat Boi._

_'Kill the king? Whatever for?'_

_'Fun, primarily.'_

_They smiled at each other._

_Neither of them had ever married because they hadn’t found their soulmate yet. But now they had found each other and the curses stopped being curses.  
_

_Rat Boi lost his rats so he was only boi, which made him sad. Also actually he had become a man by now. But everyone kept calling him rat boi, ….because it was his name._

_And RT was like 'I thought it would be fun to be a real king in a real castle with real knights, but everything stinks, they really actually don’t have dragons here and I miss Netflix. I want to go home.'_

_But Rat Boi couldn’t go home just yet. He had one last mission._

_He said: “Let’s kill some people. This will be fun.”_

_And RT took his hand and they killed some people ….and had fun. -All while still holding hands._

_And after killing a lot of people, he finally became Petty King Rat boi of England. The moral of the story is, that you can achieve anything you want, even if you just have a bucket of rats._

_And that you should always chase your dreams._

_And that rats are actually pretty awesome._

_Rat Boi had fallen in love with his soulmate. They married each other and were both kings of England, although RT was still disappointed that there were no dragons. And they would live happily ever after. -Except for the dragon thing._

_The end.”_

He had gotten quieter with every word as he watched Dan fall asleep. Kevin readjusted the blanket carefully. Dan was breathing very calmly, probably dreaming of being a prince and living in a castle with dragons and cats.

And Kevin.


	31. another cold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back!  
> I can't thank you enough for reading and for writing comments.  
> I appreciate you so much! <3
> 
> And now:  
> The plot thicccccens. ;)  
> Also fluff. <3
> 
> Please enjoy!

“Are you okay?”, Kevin asked the next morning when Dan entered the kitchen. Dan sat down at the table, this time without kissing his cheek like he usually did when his boyfriend was making breakfast. Instead, he just stared at the cup of tea that was already sitting on the table, while Kevin was occupied with making tea and pancakes.

“No. …I think one of the kids sneezed on me,” Dan said.

“Well. Feck.” 

“Stay away from me. I don’t want you to get sick as well.” 

“I never get sick, Dan,” Kevin said before placing a plate in front of him and giving him a kiss. "You should stay in bed today. I can take care of the cat cafe,” he added.

“Please don’t leave me alone here. What if he comes back?”, Dan said and the moment he said it, it was clear that he would have liked to take his words back, not wanting to show how scared he actually was. But he was tired from last night. So tired.

“Okay. I could call Jill,” Kevin suggested.

“Jill has some school thing to do for …for school,” Dan said and covered his face with his hands, groaning in pain. Then he coughed.

“Ah, yes, you are right. They’ll be back from school for lunch, though. ... I could call James since he is still having a break from YouTube.” 

“Good idea. He loves our cats.” 

~~~

After Kevin wrote him a message, James immediately drove over and picked up the keys from Kevin's flat. He also brought some coughing syrup, too and his friends appreciated the gesture.

When he arrived at the Edge of the Universe, Lauren was already waiting there, needing a coffee before she could start work. She was wearing one of her more formal-looking suit and she seemed very tired. Still, she smiled warmly when she saw him.

“Your daughter absolutely destroyed me at the laser tag tournament,” James said as he let both of them in.

“That’s my little girl,” Lauren said before she picked up Schrödinger and cuddled him. 

“What can I bring you?”, James asked as he walked behind the counter. “You look like you could need a chocolate chip frappuccino with …. Ranibow sprimkles?”, he read from a card, hidden behind the counter.

“I like your enthusiasm and I’m glad I don’t look like I need five shots of espresso mixed with five tablespoons of sugar because that’s how I feel right now.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”, James asked while he looked up, how to actually make a frappuccino.

“My client is an idiot, but there is nothing I can do about it right now. Hopefully, the case will be closed by the end of today.”

Schrödinger, still sitting in her lap, meowed loudly.

“What did you just say?”, James asked as he turned around, spilling some of the sweet mixtures.

“I said my client is an idiot-”

“I was talking about the cat.”

“The cat said that he loves you very much,” Lauren said as she held up his two front feet, waving them at James, playfully.

The cat exchanged a look with James.

Then James exchanged a short look with Lauren.

“Ah. Okay. You are joking,” James mumbled.

“There is nothing better than watching someone make a frappuccino. You are brightening my day,” Lauren said, still playing with the cat.

“I apologize for my t-shirt,” James said. He seemed unfocused.

“…Is everything okay with you?”, Lauren asked.

“Yes. Of course.” 

He handed her a cup full of sweet chocolaty liquid.

She gave him a last worried glance before she took the cup. “Thanks, James. You can keep the change.”

“Thank you. Yes,” he said. Then he followed her to the door and locked it again, while she was still waving at him.

He turned around and then looked at each cat one by one.

“I know you can talk. I’m not crazy.”

The cats gave their best to ignore him.

~~~

“Time for the reverse boat,” Kevin said.

“You don’t need to bathe me again,” Dan chuckled. “I just need to lay down for a bit and I’ll be fine.”

“Okay. Then we’ll do that later.”

And again, Dan had to laugh at his disappointed face.

“You look tired,” Dan said when Kevin came back to the bedroom after he had filmed and edited another video and also fixed the broken window properly. 

Wordless, he snuggled against Dan. He buried his face in the nape of his neck.

“You smell of eucalyptus,” Kevin mumbled.

“Thanks, it’s the cough syrup,” Dan said and held his hand.

Kevin noticed that it was shaking slightly, and shuffled to the side to look at him. “Do you need a tea or some dry bread? I could walk over to the shop and get a can of soup and a-”

“I almost lost you twice, Kevin. One time to a car. One time to an old man. And I refuse to do it again. I’m not losing you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Yesterday night.”

“I don’t even have a scratch. I’m good, Dan.”

“I’m going to track down this man who had attacked you with a knife and I will kill him.”

“Daaaan? How much cough syrup did you drink?”

“The whole fucking bottle.”

“That’s not good.”

“Look at me I’m not coughing anymore. In fact-”

Dan tried to climb over Kevin to exit the bed, but his boyfriend stopped him.

“Hey, you are not going anywhere.”

“But Kev-”

“You should sleep and _I_ also should sleep. Last night we caught very little …sleep.”

He put the blanket on top of Dan again and took the empty bottle of cough syrup from the nightstand and threw it in the direction of the bin. It rolled over the floor.

“Dan, you-”

Dan was already asleep. He was breathing calmly and looking at him, tucked at Kevin's heart. His frown vanished as he ran a hand through his hair very gently.

“Kevin, we need to go outside for a moment,” Burnt Marshmallow suddenly said quietly. Apart from feeding her for breakfast, they had completely forgotten about the cat who had been sleeping at Dan's feet all morning.

“Why? …oh wait. I forgot about that.”

“Forgot about what?”, Dan mumbled, his eyes still closed, but Kevin had already stormed out of the room, following the huge black cat.

Without wanting to go into too much detail, Kevin got the ring and cleaned it for half an hour and put it back into the box. And the box back into his pocket. 

“He’s not going to say ‘no‘,” Burnt Marshmallow said for the millionth time.

“Maybe he won’t say ‘no’ but will it really be what he wants and-”

“Stop worrying. You humans worry too much.”

Then he picked the cat up from the ground to carry her back inside.

“I wish I were a cat. You never worry. All you ever do is playing and eating and sleeping and treating your humans like you own them and not the other way around,” Kevin said.

“We used to be worshipped. And we never forgot about that,” Burnt Marshmallow said quietly.

“You still are.”

~~~

When Kevin entered the bedroom again, Dan didn’t notice him, because he was playing Sudoku on his phone. He looked a bit paler than usual and underneath the blanket, he seemed so fragile. Kevin could feel his heart fill with love by just looking at him. Dan had to go through so much shit and still he was so brave and he was always there for Kevin when he needed him. He was kind and funny and clever and he was the best thing that could have happened to him. Inside of the pullover pocket, he held the box.

Just when Kevin opened his mouth, Dan’s phone rang and it took all of Kevin's willpower to not smack it out of his hand and shatter it on a wall. Taking a deep breath he sat down on the side of the bed.

“Oh, hi-,” Dan said as he took the call. He gave Kevin a soft smile and ran a hand over his back. It stopped when he listened to what was said at the other end of the call and his expression changed.

Kevin frowned while Burnt Marshmallow sat down on his lap. They couldn’t actually hear what was being said by the other person. But the person seemed upset.

Dan looked worried when he slowly sat up and asked: “What do you mean ‘James didn’t come home’?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no yet another cliffhanger.  
> Well, but therefor I feel like I can update faster.
> 
> Please, let me know what you think and if you liked what you saw.  
> Your comments always help me a lot.  
> And reading your comments have so often given me new ideas and made the story go a different way.
> 
> I appreciate every one of you and thank you so much for reading.


	32. captured

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading, Kudo-ing and commenting! I appreciate you all so much!!!
> 
> -If anyone catches my references to famous tumblr posts, let me know. ;)
> 
> -Also please let me know if I don’t give enough trigger warnings. I’m often very unsure how to do those -on one hand, I don’t want to give spoilers, on the other hand, I don’t want anyone to get hurt, so please let me know when you see something that could make people uncomfortable. 
> 
> -Also I hid three references to another fic. <3 ;)

“That was James' girlfriend. She said he didn’t come home. He should have come home three hours ago. And he never does that,” Dan said, his voice shaking.

“Can you call Jill, they should be there by now,” Kevin replied, trying to stay calm for Dan’s sake.

“Yeah. Yeah, good idea.”

With trembling fingers, he went through his contacts and Kevin wanted to take the phone from him, this time for completely different reasons.

Dan called.

Waited until voicemail.

Hung up.

He called again.

Voicemail. 

They exchanged a look.

“I’ll go there and see if the cats are fine,” Kevin said, getting up from the bed again, “-What are you doing? Stay in bed!”

“I can’t let you go there all by yourself. What, if it’s the person again?”

Kevin shook his head. “I’ll be fine. It’s very unlikely, that both events have something to do with each other and-”

“No!”, Dan said, panicking, and grabbing for Kevin’s hands.

Again they locked eyes as Kevin pushed him back into the bed. Dan looked up at him so pleadingly it hurt. 

“Alright. You stay here and I text Noemi to drive me, okay? She probably has a break now and I could buy her a coffee and…,” Kevin asked quietly and sat next to him again, still holding his hands. 

Dan took a while to think about that, mind still cloudy from the cold and too much cough syrup. There really wasn’t a better option. Was there?

His favourite option would be if Kevin just came back to bed and they both forgot that outside of their embrace a cold and cruel world existed. But you apparently can’t have shit in Ireland.

“Okay.” He let go of him. “But call me when you get there.”

“And you got your tea and you’ll stay in bed until I come back,” Kevin said and Dan flinched back when his boyfriend leaned over to him.

“Don’t kiss me. You’ll get a cold as well,” Dan said again. 

Kevin tucked him in. And then he gave him a quick kiss on the forehead anyway.

“I never get a cold. Just allergies. You should know that by now.” 

Dan frowned and Kevin ran a hand through his messy hazelnut hair.

“I’ll be back soon. And then I feed you and give you a good ole’ bath,” Kevin said cheerfully.

This made Dan chuckle again. “As soon as my nose stops running, I’ll be the one who does the feeding again.”

“I look forward to it and am already hungy. -Also I’m leaving Burnt Marshmallow with you to protect you. I probably should hurry now.”

“Thank you,” Dan said and then Kevin was finally gone.

~~~

“I miss Kevin,” Burnt Marshmallow said, as she jumped on his stomach. He buried both his hands in the black abyss.

“He’s not even gone for ten minutes,” Dan chuckled.

“I know,” the cat answered.

The soft warm fur always seemed to exceed heat it had collected from hours laying in the sun, lazily. Still, the weight on his stomach wasn’t the most comfortable thing, but he enjoyed the warmth. The cat nonchalantly watched the robin sitting on the birch tree next to the window.

“I miss him too,” Dan said. “At least I know Noemie will watch out for him.”

“Noemie is very smart.”

Dan sighed. There wasn’t only a cat-shaped weight on his stomach, but also a Kevin-shaped weight on his heart.

“…Do you think he has been acting a bit weird recently.”

Of course, the cat knew. But she wasn’t going to break her promise and tell Dan what was really going through Kevin's mind. “No. You know that he loves you very much.”

“I know. And I love him back, more than you can ‘ _fecking_ ‘ imagine,” he replied with a small smile, “But something just feels a bit off.”

“Kevin is different than the other humans. Yes.”

“Maybe I’m going crazy, but have you heard of the fires in the area?”

“You hear all sorts of things on the streets.”

“You only ever left the cafe twice. Don’t act like you are a street cat.”

“I _am_ a street cat.”

Dan ignored that.

“I think he is hiding something from me and I’m afraid, that it has something to do with the fires.”

“It has nothing to do with the fires.”

“I’ve been following the news and there are fires in our area and it seems to be getting more and I- I- I just don’t know what to think anymore.”

He sighed again.

Burnt Marshmallow was very close to just straight up telling him. But she couldn’t. Kevin would be mad at her. She didn’t want Kevin to be mad. He was her favourite human.

“Would it change anything for you, if it were him?”

“No,” Dan said without hesitation.

“Then why is this bothering you.”

“I don’t want him to keep secrets from me.”

“I don’t think he does.”

“He kept that doll thing a secret.”

“He did.”

“He did,” Dan repeated more quietly.

“But it’s in the past. And the past is gone and-”

“Each passing moment is an opportunity for a new reality -I know, I know.”

“Correct,” Burnt Marshmallow said.

“He is …. He is Kevin. And-” 

He looked around the room searching for words. Above the bed there were pictures stapled -yes, Kevin had actually stapled them- to the wall. Pictures with the other lads from Halloween, them at the parc, Dan in the cafe, the cats, Kevin in front of the computer. Their clothes were scattered on the floor, except for Dan’s suit, which neatly hung over the chair. There were Lego Bricks in the corner of the room and on the nightstand, next to Dan’s journal there were Kevin's socks. Next to the socks a small brown plushie cat, Kevin had won for him at a small market, one weekend. It had been a fun weekend. Next to that was the small cactus, Kevin had once brought him to the cafe. Carefully, he stroked it. He had brought it home after the cats had pushed it over repeatedly. But it was a brave cactus and had survived and seemed still green and happy. It probably was a metaphor, but Dan didn’t know for what.

“Do you think he would say ' _yes_ ' if I proposed to him?”

“I think he would be really surprised if you proposed to him,” Burnt Marshmallow said. She wanted to roll her eyes. What love did to people? Stupid humans.....

Lost in his own thoughts, Dan petted the soft fur.

Suddenly the petting stopped. The cat looked up.

“What was that noise?” Dan asked.

Burnt Marshmallows ears twitched.

“I didn’t hear anything.”

“I could swear, there was something.”

“You drank a lot of this cough syrup.”

Shakily, Dan got up. He picked up the bottle from the ground and held it like a weapon.

~~~

“…Anyway that’s why Newton was gay,” Noemie said as they exited the car in front of the large blue billboard next to the cafe.

“I don’t get it,” Kevin replied.

And Noemie tried to explain it to him again, as Kevin tried to open the door. It was locked.

He looked through the glass. There were no guests inside and only very few cats at the far corner of the room.

“That’s sus,” Kevin muttered.

Noemie looked through the glass next to him. “Very sus indeed. Do you have a key?”

“No, James has it.”

“Let me try to open it then. I’m not as good as my wife, but…” Noemi got a few tools out of her jacket pocket, that she had forgotten there earlier when she had worked with them in the laboratory. Kevin stood right next to her and tried to make it look like they were very unsuspicious. Luckily, none of the very few pedestrians paid much attention. Who would break into a cafe in the middle of the early afternoon?

Quickly, Kevin called Dan to tell him they had arrived safely and were about to walk in. Dan didn’t pick up.

Kevin called again.

No answer.

He wrote a text message instead. Maybe Dan was in the bathroom or something.

Kev<3: we r in front of the cafe now. took a bit longer because we had to bring emma to her friend yumi first. 

Kev<3: now noemie is opening the door. we r not sus tho

Kev<3: i lov u. C u later<3<3<<<333 

Kev<3: B==D …

Kev<3: ;)

Then the door was open.

They walked inside.

“Stay behind me,” Noemie said as they heard a voice from the backroom.

Kevin didn’t argue.

They heard more distorted voices as they came closer to the room. And as they started to make out words, Noemie looked increasingly confused.

Kevin didn’t know what to do. He recognized the voices of Rose, George, Sir Fecker the Third and Schrödinger as they were the loudest.

Then there was Jill. They sounded very distressed.

Just as he wanted to say something, Noemie ran to the door, before he could stop her. She opened it and shrieked. Kevin was ready to catch her, but she didn’t fall. She ran to Jill and hugged her protectively. Kevin entered the room as well and closed the door behind him.

The cats went silent.

“Are you okay? What happened?”, Noemie asked Jill.

Jill pointed to the other corner of the room. 

James was tied to a chair. They had tied a kitchen towel over his mouth so he couldn’t scream. He was staring at Kevin, with wide eyes. All over him, he had been badly scratched by cat claws and it looked like someone had hit him with something. He looked at Jill. Never, would he had expected this behaviour from them.

“He found out. Didn’t he?” Kevin shook his head.

“Yes, he did. He wouldn’t give up,” Sir Fecker the Third said.

The cats looked at each other, then they started to talk all at once.

“Now we need to get rid of him.”

“We need to get rid of him.”

"Should we, tho?"

“Well, he should have minded his own business.”

“Bite him. Bite him.”

“Marvellous,” Noemie said under her breath watching the cats.

“Wait. Listen to Kevin,” George said and they went quiet again.

“Fecking hell, I’m actively trying not to kill anyone and still my brain’s like ‘Yes, yeet James into space!’”, Kevin said and got on his knees in front of James. The older one flinched back.

“Bite. Bite. Bite,” the cats started to chant.

“I’m afraid to ask, but what about me?” Noemie asked Schrödinger quietly.

“We chose to talk to you,” the cat replied.

“Free will is very important,” Rose added.

"We trust you," Rebekka said.

“We need to be very careful, with what we are going to do next,” George said.

“Noemie you are a doctor, you tell us what to do,” Rose said.

“I'm not that kind of a doctor.”

“Or we just-,” Sir Fecker the Third started.

“Y’know what, I don’t wanna think that far ahead,” Kevin suddenly said.

“Bite. Bite. Bite,” the cats chanted.  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We also got a discord server, if you are interested in reading/writing, sharing fanart and memes or just chatting with other Dan and Kevin -fans :)  
> Everyone is very nice!
> 
> https://discord.gg/gsRdvZ4
> 
> And as always thank you for reading and please, let me know what you think :)


	33. in the closet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone still reading!  
> This means a lot to me.  
> Seriously.
> 
> <3<3<3
> 
> Every form of feedback is appreciated and hopefully, someday I'll get to the level of Kevin's writing.  
> honestly. His creepypasta video? *chefs kiss*  
> Every spelling, grammar and continuity mistake seemed to be there on purpose and it all painted such a beautiful picture. And there were so many little details to it and just the voice it was written in lkfdaelrLDSFKGSLKFG  
> I'm fecking blown away.  
> Check out his animated creepypasta video if you haven't already.

After walking through the whole flat searching for Dan, Kevin ended up in the kitchen. Burnt Marshmallow was currently trying to push the garbage can over. She jumped when she noticed Kevin and tried to look innocent. But he wasn’t paying attention anyway.

“Hey, have you seen Dan?” Kevin asked.

“He’s in the closet,” Burnt Marshmallow said.

“What?”

“Dan is hiding in the closet,” the cat repeated.

"What happened?”

“He got scared. You should check on him. He refuses to come out.”

“Wait. Is he literally sitting in the actual closet?”

“Yes. That’s what I said,” the cat said in confusion.

Kevin didn’t reply and sprinted back to the bedroom.

“Dan? I’m back,” Kevin said softly as he slowly opened the door.

Dan sat on a pile of clothes and looked like he had just woken up from a nap.

“Alright, move over,” Kevin said before he pushed Dan to the back of the closet, climbing in and closed the door. It was not as dark as you would expect. Beams of light were finding their way inside between small gaps on the door. It was quite uncomfortable, sitting on a pile of clothes, Dan’s elbow in his stomach.

“Hey,” Kevin said.

“Hey,” Dan said.

In the dim light, Dan looked very tired.

“Are you ok?”

“Better, now that you are here,” he said with a small smile.

“I can’t even think of a good closet joke right now,” Kevin said, nudging him.

Dan leaned his head against his shoulder and intertwined their fingers. Once more he admired his huge hands, running his thumb up and down his palm. Although he got pressed against the wall of the closet, he finally felt like he could breathe again.

“Someone said, my clothes look really gay - I answered I sure hope they do, they came out of the closet this morning,” Kevin finally said.

Dan just cupped his face and kissed him.

“Please, never change.”

“I won’t,” Kevin chuckled, still being delighted by his own joke.

“I’ve been thinking about you all day,” Dan said after a while of them just sitting in the semi-darkness.

“I was gone for two hours,” Kevin said. “...I’ve been thinking about you, too.”

Kevin rearranged his limbs to sit more comfortably and ended up hugging Dan. Fluffy hair tickled his cheek as his boyfriend cuddled against him.

“Is everything ok, handsome?”, Kevin asked and carefully ran a hand through his hair.

“…I had a nightmare,” Dan replied reluctantly. His eyes were closed. Not that there was a lot to see anyway.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

There was a pause.

Then Dan started to say reluctantly: “It was night. The moon was shining and your naked skin had the same colour as the snow. You were covered in blood and absolutely gorgeous.-”

“Was I alive?” Kevin interrupted him.

“Yes. You were fine. The trees were on fire and you just smiled and then we kissed and then we-”

Kevin frowned as he listened to Dan explain his dream.

“... Were you covered in blood too?” he asked quietly. He didn’t know a lot about how to interpret dreams. But… this didn’t seem to good.

“I don’t know,” Dan said. “Probably.”

He slowly shook his head and Kevin held him a little bit closer.

“I had a nightmare in which someone stole my skin and made it into a lamp. Then I had this reoccurring dream with the Teco-,” Kevin started in an attempt to lighten the mood again.

“What happened at the cafe?” Dan interrupted because he had already heard that story several times.

“James’ battery was empty and then he played with the cats and forgot the time.”

“…Kevin, I think you are lying again.”

There was a pause. Dan had his eyes closed again and was leaning against Kevin, his head suddenly al lot heavier.

“I don’t... After his battery was empty, he ummm.... Triedtomakethecatstalktohim andthenjillnoticedwhathewasdoing andtheyalltiedhimup inthebackroomandheldhimcaptive.”

Another pause. 

Dan slowly moved to finally look at him.

“What,” he asked.

Kevin fished a lonely sock from the pile underneath him and put it on his hand, so he was wearing it like a glove. It was a grey one and there was no way to tell if it has been his sock or Dans or that of the person who had lived in the flat before them.

“You heard me,” he mumbled

“James tried to.....? Oh, shit. Jesus Christ. I can’t believe that happened.”

“It was just bound to happen sooner or later.”

“What did you do?” Dan asked and when Kevin didn’t reply, he ripped the sock away from him.

“What was necessary.”

“I-”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Kevin...”

His head hurt. From the cold and from being tired.

“The Edge of the Universe is safe once more. Don’t worry,” Kevin said calmingly.

And Dan wanted nothing more than to believe him.

“I’ll never stop to worry about you.”

“Me?”

Suddenly, Kevin sneezed.

“Yes, you. Bless you. You said you wouldn’t get a cold, Kevin.”

“These are my allergies.”

He sneezed again.

Quickly, Kevin took the sock back from Dan and cleaned his nose with it. “I can’t feel my legs anymore. Why are we hiding in here again?”

“I thought someone was in the flat,” Dan replied reluctantly.

Kevin laid a hand on his forehead.

“I didn’t imagine it,” Dan said. 

“Your fever is getting worse. You should be in bed,” Kevin said quietly and opened the door again. They both climbed out of the closet, grunting like old men.

~~~

“I’ll make you another cup of tea,” Kevin said and after he tucked in Dan again. “And some toast,” he added, before he left the room with one last worried glance.

Dan rested his head on the cushions and folded his fingers low on his belly. Then he cleaned his nose, which woke up the cat at the end of the bed. Burnt Marshmallow had come back to the bedroom to take a nap, after scattering all the content of the garbage can on the kitchen floor.

“Have you talked?”, she asked.

“Yes.”

“You look confused.”

“I am confused.”

“Why.”

Burnt Marshmallow started to purr calmingly, as Dan searched for words.

“Whenever I’m with him I feel …terrifyingly alive. I- I- I know every inch of him and still, I will never know what is really going on in his mind. I’m worried about what he might have done to James and…”

He stared at the ceiling for a long moment.

“I’m just accepting it. I’m not even really question it. Why?”

“Because you trust Kevin. He may be dramatic but he would never do anything to James. They are friends, Dan.”

“You are right. Of course, you are right and now there is- is- It’s a feeling of …inevitability. Like I will always end up with him,” Dan whispered in hushed tones like the words just needed to get out before Kevin came back.

“Is that a bad thing?”

“No, it isn’t. I don’t know if I should be scared of him, but right now I only feel comfort.”

“There is no need to be scared of him,” the cat said.

They both jumped a little, when they heard the kitchen door and then steps.

With a cheerful smile, Kevin reentered and put the tea and a plate with very black-looking on the nightstand.

“Have you written your diary yet?”

“It’s a journal... No.”

The taller one took the book and held it in front of him. Their fingers touched when Dan reached out for it. Swiftly, Kevin pulled him closer and kissed his hand before he let go of him. Then he leaned over him, pinning him against the mattress. Their noses almost touched.

“I still have a cold,” Dan mumbled.

“I know,” Kevin replied. “My red-nosed-rein…dear.”

He kissed the tip of his nose, which made Dan giggle again.

Then he let go of him to undress for the night. Dan watched him, while the black cat looked away.

Finally, Kevin slipped under the blanket and handed his boyfriend his glasses, so he could start writing.

“Today was a good day,” Dan said as he wrote in his diary -I mean journal.

_Was it, though?_

Kevin raised an eyebrow.

As Dan kept writing, unfazed, Kevin exchanged a look with Burnt Marshmallow. It was hard enough for him to read the expression of a human and it was almost impossible to read the expression of a cat.

~~~

In the middle of the night, Kevin woke because Dan was holding him a little bit too tightly.

“Kevin, I don’t feel safe at home anymore-”, Dan whispered, when he felt that his boyfriend was awake.

Kevin gasped for air, but there was no sound leaving his mouth. He wanted to tell him he would protect him, but in that exact moment, he knew, that most of the past occurrences spoke against him. 

It had been Dan who saved him. Again and again.

Dan who saved him from the robber. 

Dan who had saved him at the cliff when he could have died. 

Dan who had saved him from being lonely. Miserable.

Dan who had gone further than anyone else had ever gone to keep him safe. Alive.

“Do you want a security system?”, Kevin asked and he sounded defeated. “You know, Will is an electrician and-”

“No. I want- Never mind.”

“Tell me. Dan.”

“It’s stupid never mind.”

“It’s not stupid. Nothing you ever said was stupid.”

It confused him to see that Dan seemed completely done and lost.

“I don’t want to live here anymore,” Dan whispered against his chest so quietly he almost didn’t hear it.

“You want to move out?”

Dan didn’t answer. There was a stitchy pain in his chest. 

Kevin leaned back and cupped his face, forcing him to look at him. “You want to leave me?”

Dan’s eyes got big in shock.

“Of course I don’t want to leave you. God! Kevin!”

“I-”, Kevin started, but couldn’t continue. Didn’t know how he should do that.

Dan waited for him to complete his sentence, but when nothing happened for a while, he intertwined their fingers and kissed the back of his hand.

“I love you,” Dan said. “I’m not leaving this house without you. If you stay, I stay.”

“Maybe I could put a bat next to the bed.”

Dan didn’t reply. He listened to him breathing quietly and for a moment he was scared he had fallen asleep again.

“We talk about this in the morning. Ok?”, Kevin asked.

“Ok.”

“Dan, I love you-”

“I know.”

When he saw Kevin's worried look, he chuckled. “I love you, too.”

~~~

The doorbell rang much too early in the morning.

First Kevin wanted to pretend like he didn't hear it, but when he noticed that Dan was still fast asleep in his arms, he didn't want the person outside to ring again and wake him. Very carefully he untangled himself from blanket and Dan and got out of bed. On his way to the door, he stumbled over Burnt Marshmallow.

"FECK."

The cat hissed.

Kevin froze. 

No. It was still quiet in the bedroom.

And as quietly as he could, he opened the door.

“Surprise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter we'll be back at the cafe and we also might find out whatever the feck happened to James and Noemie.
> 
> ~~~
> 
> We also got a discord server, if you are interested in reading/writing, sharing fanart and memes or just chatting with each other :)  
> Everyone is very nice!
> 
> https://discord.gg/gsRdvZ4
> 
> And as always thank you for reading and please, let me know what you think :)


	34. Max

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter. New cats.  
> Enjoy <3

The doorbell rang much too early in the morning.

“Surprise.”

“Max!”

They hugged.

“How are you doing?”, Max asked. He had a black suitcase standing next to him and was holding a bag.

“Good good. How are you doing, friend?”

“Better if you would get dressed.”

“Oh, sorry,” Kevin said and quickly put a shirt on he found on the floor. It was Dan’s shirt, he noticed as it got suddenly a lot harder to breathe and move. Kevin smiled as he thought about the events that had led to the shirt ending up there on the floor.

“It’s so good to see you again,” Max said. “Oh, and you must be Dan.”

“There were scary sounds,” Dan said and lowered the Umbrella he had been holding like a weapon. “Hi. You must be Max. Sorry about that.”

“Do you remember when you, Will and I would hunt demons together?”, Max asked.

“I’m not talking about children's games,” Daniel said, annoyed at the other two laughing. “Yesterday there also were noises.”

“We did that on Kevin’s birthday last year,” Max chuckled.

“I don’t remember most of that,” Kevin said, covering his face with his hands for a moment.

“Don’t worry, we took photos and Kevin is in most of them,” Max said, looking at Dan.

“I’m going to print them out if you send them to me. But first I should make breakfast,” Dan said flatly and walked off.

“Oh, come in, Max. You can carry your suitcase right to the couch,” Kevin said and gestured for him to enter the apartment.

“Thank you, Kevin,” Max replied.

After throwing Kevin’s stuff down from the couch and Max’ stuff on it, they entered the kitchen, chatting about the 'good ole times'.

Dan had already placed three plates on the table and was now preparing tea for the three of them.

Quickly, Kevin took the mug from his boyfriend as the shorter one almost dropped it.

“Are you ok, Dan?”, Max asked taking the pan from the stove before the egg could burn. 

Dan didn’t answer, and Max and Kevin shared a look.

“Let me prepare breakfast. I’ve worked at a restaurant, I know what I’m doing,” Max offered.

With a frown, Kevin pulled his boyfriend out of the kitchen: “Your hands are shaking. Maybe you should go back to bed. Do you need another blanket? I think we got one somewhere in the-”

“What happened to James, Kevin?”, Dan whispered.

“What do you mean? He’s back home,” Kevin said, confused.

“But what about the …incident.”

“I told you I took care of it.”

“But _how_ did you take care of it?”

Kevin took a deep breath before he said in a calming tone: “He wants us to sell his coffee brand at the cafe. And we are also going to sell some of his mugs as souvenirs. He wouldn’t have said anything if it was just talking cats but then they attacked him and Jill let him stay in the backroom for the whole day without water or bathroom and well… He was very angry, but Jill won’t get in trouble if we help him with the coffee.”

“Oh,” Dan said.

“Oh?”

“That’s … You did well, Kevin.”

“Thank you. I told you so.”

“I- I’m sorry for not trusting you,” Dan said shaking his head in disbelieve. He should have known-

“It’s fine. Do you want to go back to bed or do you want breakfast, now?”

Dan looked at him, but Kevin didn’t seem angry at all. He was as calm as ever and smiled at him. 

“Breakfast sounds good,” he said.

They had the best scrambled eggs of their lives and while Max told embarrassing stories about Kevin, Dan was quiet for most of the time. He felt so much better now that he knew, that everything had turned out ok. Also, he felt a little bit ashamed of himself because he hadn’t believed in Kevin, but it didn’t seem to bother his boyfriend at all.

When he had emptied his plate he reached over the table and took Kevin's hand. They smiled at each other before they continued to listen to Max telling the story of how Kevin once convinced his friends to hunt ghosts in their old school at night. 

~~~

“Burnt Marshmallow?”

“Ye?”, the cat asked, sitting in the middle of the bed, surrounded by small kittens.

“Where are these kittens coming from?

“These are my children.”

“AWWWW,” Max said pushing past them before he picked the grey one with a white tummy up.

“This is Leon. Teddy is black with a white tummy and white paws. Pebbles is black and white. G. Flux is black with greenish eyes. And this is Benedict Cumberscratch.”

Kevin picked up Benedict Cumberscratch.

“Those do not look like they are your children,” Daniel said.

Kevin’s arm got scratched a lot while he cuddled with the small kitten.

Burnt Marshmallow ignored him.

“Who is the father?” Dan asked.

“What father?”, the cat asked a bit aggressively.

“Look at these little beans,” Max said, carefully holding Leon before he also picked up Teddy. Kevin took Pebbles to also sit on his arm. The kitten immediately started to lick him. 

“I think she found them somewhere,” Dan said.

“I didn’t.”

“They look like they are at least a month old.”

“Can we keep them?”, Kevin asked.

“We need to bring them back,” Dan said.

“NO! You can’t bring them back!” Burnt Marshmallow stood up and hissed at Dan.

“Calm down. I’m just saying, they need to be with their owners and-”

“They have no owners! …Their house burnt down.”

“Which house burnt down?”, Dan asked.

“Three houses down the road. The one with the wooden fence and the soulless birds in front of it.”

“She talks about the plastic flamingoes,” Kevin said.

Dan looked at the cat. Then at Kevin. Then back at the cat.

He hesitated. “You did well, that you saved them. But. …we already have so many cats. How many cats is too many cats?”

“There isn’t such a thing as too many cats," Max said and cuddled with the kittens.

“You know what? I’m too- you take care of this, Kevin. I need to get dressed so we can open the cafe.”

“Ok, Don’t worry about it," Kevin said and gave him a quick kiss before he let him exit the room.

“Can we keep them?”, the huge black cat asked when they heard the bathroom door close.

“Of course we are keeping them," Kevin replied and sat down next to her on the bed to let the kittens crawl all over him. G. Flux bit his fingers but it didn’t hurt very much. Meanwhile Leon and Pebbles destroyed one of Kevin’s socks they had found under the pillow. Burnt Marshmallow cleaned Teddy and Benedict Cumberscratch.

“Benedict Cumberscratch… wasn’t that the guy who played Alan Turing in The Imitation Game?”, Max asked.

“He was in the Simpsons once. In 2013,” Kevin said. “I like Simpsons.”

Max sat down next to him and petted Burnt Marshmallow.

“By the way: Why is your cat talking?”, Max asked quietly.

“Long story,” Kevin said.

~~~

“I feel well enough to come back to the cafe,” Dan said.

“I can’t wait to see the cats. The rest of the cats,” Max said.

Dan sneezed.

“Bless you. Maybe you should stay with Burnt Marshmallow and the kittens,” Kevin said.

“I’m fine. And I’m going crazy alone in here.”

“But you are going to take the blanket with you and I’ll personally make sure, that you at least take three naps in the backroom,” Kevin said, crossing his arms.

“Two naps.”

“Three naps and a lot of tea.”

“Alright. Now help me to put all those cats in boxes,” Dan said with a sigh while Kevin grinned triumphantly.

~~~

While Kevin searched in his pockets for the key in front of the edge of the universe, Max admired the _‘Cats allowed. People tolerated_ ’-sign.

Just as Kevin opened the door, Noemie arrived, holding Emma’s hand.

“Hello, Kevin! Hello, Dan! Hello, friend from Kevin and Dan,” the child said cheerfully.

“Good morning,” the adults mumbled, nodding at each other.

“Can you help Emma with her presentation, please?”, Noemie asked.

“Yeah, sure. That was the deal.”

“I wouldn’t say anything either way.”

“And I would help her either way.”

“Thank you so much, Kevin. I’ll pick her up at five. Wow, that’s a lot of cats,” she said, looking at the kittens they were taking out of the boxes.

“Would you like a cat?”, Daniel asked.

“Can we have a cat, mammy?”, Emma asked.

“You can look at the cats here. Your mother is already losing enough hair on all the furniture,” Noemie said before she gave Emma a small kiss on the forehead and left

He looked at the homework assignment as he sat down at a table with Emma.

“These idiots are …couldn’t be more wrong,” Kevin mumbled as he read the notes from the class.

“This is so boring," Emma complained.

“I thought you are currently learning about colours.” 

“We did colours in arts and crafts. I like arts and crafts more.“

“I like arts and crafts, too,” Kevin sighed.

“But for geography, we have to make a presentation about the moon landing. Can you tell me something about it?”

“Some people get mad if you say it was fake and some get mad if you say it was real.”

Then a group of five children entered the cafe. Kevin thought he recognized some of them from the Lasertag game, but he could be wrong.

~~~

Behind the counter, Max helped out to prepare the orders, after Dan had quickly shown him how everything worked after he had caught Max muttering to himself: “If I was a whisk, where would I hide?”

They watched as the new cats got introduced into the family. It turned out Benedict Cumberscratch liked to use people’s legs as scratching trees, while Pebbles, Teddy and Leon sat with George who seemed to tell them a story. G. Flux was hiding under a table.

“What do I have to do for the cats to like me? I wish I could take all of them home.”

“You gotta eat a rat to show dominance,” Dan replied.

Max laughed after a moment in which he had seemed to consider his options.

“What was it like? Growing up with Kevin?”, Dan asked quietly, preparing another hot chocolate.”

“We didn’t really grow up together. We were already pretty old when we met in a Minecraft server.”

“What was he like, …then?”

“I always asked him to teach me Irish and I would teach him Spanish in return, but…”

“But?”

“He always says, that he doesn’t know a lot of Irish. He doesn’t even know how to say ‘how are you?’, ‘Squirrels are great’, or ‘I love you’ in Irish,” Max said.

“Do you know a lot Spanish?”

“Las ardillas son geniales, asombrosas realmente,” Max said. “Squirrels are great, amazing really.”

Dan laughed.

“Hay un nuevo gato en la casa,” Max added. “There’s a new cat in the house.”

“Sei la migliore prova che l’amore esiste davvero a prima vista,” Kevin suddenly said behind Daniel. He wrapped his arms around him and rested his chin on his right shoulder.

“I’ve been to Taco Bell often enough to know this is not Spanish,” Dan said.

“What were you talking about?”, Kevin asked before he kissed Dan’s cheek. “Also this is your reminder to drink some water and take a nap.”

“Max just told me, that you don’t even know how to say I love you in Irish.”

“Yeah, I’m not that good at speaking Irish.”

“You know enough…and you should say something in Irish… the thing we talked about… on your birthday….the one question you wanted to ask… now is good time…,” Max said trying to tell Kevin something with his eyes.

“I barely remember what we discussed five minutes ago. Don’t make me think so far back. I have Amnosia,” Kevin said staring at Max and shaking his head. There was panic behind the surface. In his —which was actually Dan’s— pullover pocket he held the small box grasped. 

“My boyfriend knows the name of every Sims he has ever killed, but very conveniently never remembers his turn to do the dishes. Only then the Amnosia kicks in. Interesting.”

“It’s the Amnosia,” Kevin pouted.

“I know,” Daniel said. He wrapped his arms around his neck and gave him a quick kiss.

“He just smiles charmingly enough, that he can get away with everything with you,” Max chuckled.

“You are stuck with me forever,” Kevin said, while refusing to release him from a big hug.

“Oh god. Oh no,” Daniel said jokingly.

“God can’t help you now,” Kevin said and kissed his cheek.

~~~

Dan got forced to drink water and take a small nap in the backroom and Kevin went back to help Emma and her friends with their school project, while Max took care of all the orders.

When he felt better again, Dan continued taking orders.

“Kevin, can we listen to the Bimpson-song again? PLAESEEE,” one of the kids just asked as Dan came closer to the table.

The rest started chanting: “Bimpson Bimpson Bimpson!”

“Maybe later,” Kevin chuckled as he caught Dan’s eyes.

“I brought you some water and vegetable snacks,” Dan said.

“We don’t like water. Can’t you bring us some lemonade?”

“Guys, you need to drink your water,” Dan said.

“But water is boring,” one of the children complained, stumping a foot underneath the table.

“Yes, water is boring as feck.” Kevin nodded.

“Kevin-”

“Yes,” the rest of the children agreed.

“Drink some snowman blood instead,” Kevin said.

The children laughed.

Suddenly, an orange tabby cat jumped onto the table.

“Rebekka, we talked about this. You can’t help with the homework,” Dan said.

“But she knows a lot about Astronomy,” Kevin pouted.

“But we have a rule about no cats on the tables. -and we should make a new one about no one helping with homework.”

“Ok, dad,” Kevin said with a wink.

“Sooo… How’s it going?”, he asked quickly to distract from the fact that he got flustered.

“We are going to prove that the moon landing was fake and we are going to make sure that Ireland sends the first rocket to space,” Emma explained.

“Awww. That’s great.”

Kevin and the children seemed very proud.

~~~

Before the parents came to pick the children up, they hadn’t exactly proven if the moon landing was fake or not. But they had made a lot of plans on how to build their own rocket.

After Dan and Kevin said goodbye to the last kid, which had problems to let go of their favourite cat, Dan sat Sir Fecker the Third on the floor and hugged Kevin without a word. Automatically, Kevin wrapped his arms around him, taking a deep breath before he kissed his hair.

“Are you tired?”, Kevin asked, leaning against the window.

“Not really tired. Just exhausted. …Kevin?”

“Yeah?”

“Did you see that?”

“What?”, Kevin turned around and looked at the direction Dan was pointing. He saw the building which was almost finished, where the Moonbucks coffee shop had burnt down only months ago. He spotted nothing out of the ordinary.

“What did you see, Dan?”

“A light. But it was all weird. And…,” he shook his head. “We should go over there and look.”

“Have you watched scooby doo? This is a bad idea.”

Dan ran out of the cafe and Kevin and Max quickly followed him.

Dan tried to open the door. Then he kicked it.

“Who raised you?”, Max asked, holding him back.

“But I saw something,” Dan said.

Suddenly there was a weird noise, which made them jump.

“Maybe it is a ghost there,” Max replied, stepping back.

“There are no ghosts, but maybe we should go in,” Kevin said.

“I’m gonna ask you to be respectful here. If there really is a ghost,” Max said.

“I politely decline,” Kevin replied.

They entered the building one after another. The design on the inside was nothing like it had been before at all.

It still smelled of paint and the walls were coloured in friendly greens and blues and yellows.

Then there was the sound again.

“There definitely is a ghost. Let's go back.”

“You said there are no ghosts.”

“I’m not the same person I was 14 minutes ago,” Kevin said. “Let’s go back… Past Kevin is an idiot.”

“Maybe we should get our ghost hunting equipment. -Daniel? Where are you?”, Max asked as he looked around.

“Daaaaaan?”, Kevin yelled.

No answer.

“Maybe he went outside again.”

He didn’t.

The street was empty and somehow they had the feeling, Dan hadn’t gone back to the cat café.

Slightly worried, Kevin and Max turned and went back in and walked upstairs.

The walls on the other floor were painted in white. The rooms were still unfurnished. It smelled of paint and …. just the smell of freshly build building. Slightly moist. The only light source was the street lamps shining through the open windows. 

“PSPSPS, Dan? Where are you.”

“Kevin, there was a noise,” Max whispered.

“I’m 60% sure there are no ghosts.”

“It sounds like a muffled scream.”

“This was not Dan. I know how Dan’s muffled screams sound like. I’m 34% sure, there are no ghosts."

“Kevin! …also I’m 45% sure you are wrong.”

Kevin chuckled nervously. There was yet another weird noise and then footsteps. Did it really get colder? Max turned on his phone's display to awkwardly light them the way. They followed the noise of the footsteps through a long corridor.

“Psss, he is over there,” Max suddenly said and pointed in his direction.

Dan was standing at the window of an empty room, looking at The Edge Of The Universe.

Max chuckled quietly shaking his head, while Kevin tiptoed over to Dan trying hard to be as silent as possible.

“GHOST HUG!”, he suddenly called and wrapped his arms around Dan.

“OH FUCK, KEVIN,” Dan screeched, “YOU FUCKER!”

First, he pushed him away and then he let himself fall into his arms.

With a quiet sob, Dan leaned his forehead against Kevin’s chest.

“Are you ok?”, Kevin asked, suddenly concerned.

His boyfriend didn’t react and Max stepped closer, looking around the room. There didn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary.

“Dan?”, Kevin asked softly.

Dan looked up at him and smiled bravely. His eyes were red like he had cried.

“I’m ok now. Don’t worry. Let’s just get out of here,” Dan said.

“I’m sorry, we scared you and-”

“Kevin, you-,” Max started.

“WE together as a unit scared you and we are sorry about it,” Kevin said.

This made Dan smile again.

“No ghosts. I’m the scariest thing in here,” Kevin added and they all agreed on it as they crossed the road and went back to the cafe, where it was warm and colourful and there were lots of cats.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kevin spoke Italien: You are the best proof that love really exists at first sight.
> 
> Please, Please tell me what you think! It really helps me out a lot.
> 
> Even if you read this years later. Your comment will never be annoying or something. I'm very happy everytime I see someone in my inbox!


	35. The Croissant

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to the amazing [defnotme](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KMelion/pseuds/defnotme) for beating! Check out their fics as well. They are great!
> 
> I'm wishing you all a Happy New Year!
> 
> Thank you all very much for reading and please let me know what you think :)

He had dreamed about the cats chasing him through the fields close to his childhood home when suddenly a strange sound ripped him out of his nightmare. His heart pounding against his ribs, he waited for something to happen. With the tiredness still clouding his mind, he found it equally possible that there could be another burglar, a ghost or an army of aliens.

Steps. Hinges squeaking. Mumbling. 

Then silence again.

He stared at the ceiling, eyes wide open, listening for more. The darkness listened back. The familiar fear crept its way back into his heart and bones. Listening to the light snoring of his boyfriend, he took all the bravery he could find in him and turned on the light. Feeling the need to protect Kevin at all costs, he reached next to the bed, searching for-

He froze again and it was like his ears were hurting from the sounds.

There surely was a noise coming from the kitchen. …And now it seemed to get louder again.

Next to him, one arm around his waist, his boyfriend still hadn't woken up. Kevin was smiling in his sleep seeming to be experiencing some peaceful dreams like nothing bad could ever happen.

“Kevin?” Dan whispered.

His boyfriend turned to the side to face the wall in his sleep and Dan didn’t have the heart to wake him. Very carefully he climbed out of the bed and picked up the baseball bat that Kevin had put next to it in the evening. 

Floor cold against his feet, he tiptoed through the apartment. Yes, there certainly was another noise and it came from the kitchen. It wasn’t the same one he heard the nights before. Oddly enough, it sounded more like someone was at the fridge. He raised the bat as the door got closed.

“Daniel! I could have dropped my croissant!” Max said while Dan hid the bat behind his back, ashamed of himself. Luckily he could stop himself from hitting Max in the very last moment.

“I’m so sorry, Max. I-uh I really forgot that you are here.”

“It’s ok. The croissant is still good. -Would you like something, too?”

“No, thank you,” Dan replied, unsure if he should just leave the kitchen and go back to bed. One glance at the clock on the oven told him that it wouldn’t make a lot of sense to try and sleep again. But on the other hand, he could cuddle with Kevin again if he just slipped back into bed. Instead, they looked at each other. Both were uncertain about what to do next.

“Would you like to sit with me for a moment? I’m sorry I woke you,” Max said before he took a bite out of his croissant.

“It’s ok. Kevin stole the blanket anyway and my feet are cold.”

They both sat down at the kitchen table and Dan felt awkward, watching Max eat his croissant.

“If we buy some cheese and flour tomorrow, I could make Lasagna in the evening. Uhm …It won’t be the same without Liam, but maybe we could cook together …and get to know each other a bit better. Do you know that Kevin never shuts up about you? You two are...”

“…perfect for each other?” Dan interrupted softly.

“You two are very annoying. But he is my best friend and you are his …boyfriend… and I will be very disappointed if he doesn’t ask me to be his best man, which he hasn’t done already. By the way, this is unacceptable behaviour. Maybe you could give him a hint,” Max said very casually. He pretended to type something into his phone while watching Daniel from the corner of his eye. 

Words threatened to flow out of him like chocolate out of an eclair the moment you first bite into it. Instead, Dan pressed his lips together and said nothing at all. He couldn’t just tell Max that he was planning on proposing to Kevin very soon. After all, Max was Kevin's best friend and he would surely tell him and then it wouldn’t be a surprise.

“Well, how do you know when the right moment is?” Dan asked, trying to sound equally as casual. He stood up to clean some plates that hadn’t fit into the dishwasher.

“There is never a right moment. Sometimes you just have to be brave,” Max said, hiding a grin behind his phone. Unbeknownst to Dan, this whole situation was very funny to Max.

“How is it going with uhmm… your roommate? Are you...” Dan asked, turning off the water before he grabbed a towel.

"I fell for him slowly and then all at once,” Max said and he smiled at the thought of it.

“I think I know what you mean.” Dan nodded in agreement.

Leaning back in his chair, Max's face fully lit up. “It’s the little things. When we are at the store Liam usually says: ‘ _ Sir, please stop touching me.’  _ And I would say ‘ _ SIR! Please stop putting things into my basket.’ _ And then we laugh.” … _ and then we make out in the soup aisle _ , he thought to himself with a barely suppressed but fond grin.

“When we go to the TECO store, Kevin likes to scratch haunting things into the bananas. You know, it does that thing, where the writing appears after people bought the bananas. He really likes going to the TECO store,” Dan said fondly. They chuckled.

“Good morning. What are you guys talking about?” Kevin asked as he suddenly entered the kitchen, startling Max.

He hugged Daniel, pushing him against the sink and gave him a long kiss before he sat down with Max at the table.

"Books," Dan said hastily.

At the very same time, Max looking like he got caught red-handed, shouted: "Bees!"

The two of them shared a panicked look.

“Didn’t you say you wanted to read Catcher in the Rye, Kevin?” Max quickly asked. After giving a mischievous wink, he continued to talk, "To impress a certain young man?”

“Of course, and I know everything about the book. Ask me anything about Catcher in the Rye. The title of the book, for example, is Catcher in the Rye,” Kevin replied.

“I know that you watched a YouTube summary with stick figures, Kevin. But I appreciate that you tried,” Dan said, quickly. Then he placed three bowls, milk and three different brands of cereal on the table. 

As they ate breakfast, Kevin improvised an alternate version of Catcher in the Rye. This one included two and a half murders, an alien abduction, several cats and a fifteen pages monologue about cornflakes.

~~~

Half an hour later the three of them stood in front of The Edge Of The Universe. And while Kevin and Max waited for Dan to open the door, Martha arrived with her phone pressed to her ear.

“Blow these motherfuckers up, sweety,” she said and ended her phone call, just as she walked past Max into the café.

With wide eyes, Max stared at her. Then he glanced at Dan and Kevin. They didn't seem bothered. _ Maybe they hadn't heard her _ , Max mused. Meanwhile, Martha rummaged through her purse and with a wink, handed him a cherry flavoured bonbon.  _ Eh. Whatever. _

"I still have a feeling, something is not ok,” Dan said quietly to himself, entering the cat café behind his boyfriend who held his hand protectively. Kevin noticed his boyfriend glancing over at the other building. 

“See? No ghosts here. The café is safe,” Kevin said as the cats greeted them, meowing like they hadn’t been fed in weeks, probably months. 

Max had the feeling that the cats were exchanging looks, but of course, he could be wrong. There were so many cats but he couldn’t shake off the feeling that some of them were acting sus. 

He got distracted from his thought process when Pebbles wanted to be picked up and of course, Max did just that. Pebbles purred loudly and every suspicion was forgotten.

Dan prepared the food for the cats and Martha helped him. Meanwhile, Kevin swept the floor, the broom getting attacked by several cats. Soon Kevin gave up and handed the broom to Max, who gave him Pebbles in exchange. To his surprise, Max found great joy in trying to clean up the fur. Meanwhile, the cats found great joy in defending the floor.

"Hey, how are you doing?" Kevin asked after he had seemingly materialized out of thin air next to Dan.

"I'm so annoying," Daniel mumbled, his eyes fixed on the hot chocolate he was preparing.

"Where is that coming from," Kevin asked as he wrapped his arms around Dan’s waist. He kissed his cheek. “I won’t ever have enough of you,” Kevin whispered

Dan sat the mug down, afraid to spill the beverage. And although he had held the steaming hot mug, Dan's hands were rapidly cooling down again. By the time Kevin took them, they were as cold as ice and only after a moment of hand-holding did Dan start to feel warm again.

“Oh, hey Kevin,” Dan said and smiled at him with equal warmth.

“Hey…,” Kevin replied slowly.

“Is something wrong, ...pumpkin?”

“No,... cupcake.”

It was clear that Dan had a feeling that this wasn’t entirely true but what had been going on inside of him remained a mystery to both of them. For a moment, he glanced around but there was no one there, except for Martha who was telling Max about her time in the war, while never revealing which war. Only Kevin knew that this was actually about the Call Of Duty Warzone Season Seven. 

“Let me tell you a joke to brighten the mood again,” Kevin said, trying to distract Dan as well as himself from the sudden feeling that something wasn’t alright. Kevin couldn’t quite put a finger on what was going on with Daniel in the past few weeks but there were those certain moments when it felt like Daniel was weirdly absent, that worried Kevin to no end. As soon as it had come, the darkness in Dan’s eyes was gone again and his boyfriend nodded, glad to change the subject.

“Knock knock," Kevin started and Dan already giggled.

“Dude, please answer, you are ruining the joke,” Kevin said.

"That's not even a good joke," Pebbles interjected.

"You have to be  _ kitten _ me," Kevin replied, shaking his head at the small cat. "Knock-knock jokes are almost as good as puns."

" _ You _ are a joke," Detective Mittens said in a surprisingly aggressive tone and a few other cats meowed in agreement.

“Daaaaan, I’m getting bullied by your cats.”

“They are  _ our  _ cats,” Dan replied, seemingly unfazed by the exchange.

“I’m my own cat,” Detective Mittens said and with that, the conversation was over for the cats and they went completely silent. Furthermore, they went back to their normally scheduled cat-activities when the first guests started to arrive.

~~~

Max and Kevin were sitting together, chatting about nothing in particular, two cats on their laps, each. While Max was sending memes to Liam, Kevin played Candy Crush on his phone and kept glancing at Dan every now and then

His boyfriend smiled back at him every time they locked eyes. But every time he didn't notice Kevin looking at him, Dan seemed sad.

"He seems a bit nervous about something. Maybe you should try to talk to him," Kevin suddenly said.

"What?"

"Talk to him. You are good at talking. You have a very calming voice," Kevin said.

“Dan! What time of the day do you like drinking water best?” Max asked, raising an arm to wave at him. He lowered it again awkwardly when Dan walked past him with two pieces of cake.

“Morning, I guess,” Dan replied after he had stopped for a short moment, before walking off again.

"Alright-," Max said. Then he exchanged a look with Kevin.

“Don’t worry. You did amazing, sweaty.”

“I’m sorry, Kevin.”

Absentmindedly, Kevin prevented Burnt Marshmallow from reaching out to the cookies on the table in front of them. Meanwhile, Max tried to get some of the cat hair off the purple Twitch shirt he had ‘borrowed’ from Liam.

“Wait. Where is Dan?” Kevin suddenly asked after maybe half an hour had passed and he had watched Jill getting increasingly more stressed with the orders.

"Dan went to the kitchen to get the cupcakes, I think," Max said. “He’s been there a while, now hasn’t he?”

“I’m going to look at what Dan is doing,” Kevin said, an unexplainable feeling of dread settling in his stomach.

Swiftly, he put the complaining cats back on the floor, before making his way through the café. Kevin entered the backroom and quietly closed the door behind him.

“Hey, Dan-,” Kevin started. The next moment, a spatula flew through the air like a ninja star and got stuck in the door. Right next to his cheek.


	36. leave

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the one year anniversary of cat café! WEEEEOOOOWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!  
> And I want to thank everyone who was with me on this journey. Thank you to every single reader, even if you didn’t get this far reading this lol.  
> Thank you so much to everyone leaving comments -- I appreciate them so, so much!  
> Thank you so much to everyone who made fanart. They are the wallpapers on all my devices.  
> Seriously, all of this means so much to me <3  
> You, friends and family, never fail to cheer me up.  
> Thank you so much to my amazing beta [ defnotme](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KMelion/pseuds/defnotme)
> 
> Please, go and check out their fics. They are an amazing writer!
> 
> And thank you very much for your patience because the chapters are taking a bit longer now because the grammar is finally correct.  
> There are still a few more chapters to go in the cat café universe.

“What the fuck, Dan?” Kevin asked quietly, unable to take his eyes off the spatula stuck in the wooden door. His distraught reflection in the metal stared back.

“Oh no.” Dan stumbled backwards, staring at Kevin in shock. "I'm so sorry!"

Dan ran his hands through his dishevelled hair. Spoons, knives and forks were scattered on the table where he had cleaned them. His eyes were wide in fright as he stumbled against a pile of pans and pots, knocking them over with multiple loud banging sounds.

“Dan?” Kevin asked tonelessly.

“Kevin! Are you alright? What are you doing?” Max asked when he opened the door, holding a chair as a weapon. He put it safely back on the ground when George seemingly appeared out of nowhere behind Daniel and ran past Max out of the door. The three of them stared at the spatula stuck in the door.

“Nothing,” Dan said with a broken voice. 

“I’m fine. Dan, are you okay? What was that?” Kevin stepped closer, finally looking at Dan. Confused and not sure how to act, he reached out.

“I’m stressed. I’m- I’ve got so much to prepare for Christmas, I-,” Dan started but soon fell silent again.

"This was very close, but there is no reason to be afraid, alright?" Kevin asked and carefully pulled him into a hug. He gave his best to sound as calming as possible. He was more shocked than scared.

“Oh no,” Dan said softly, eyes wide like he was remembering something.

“You scared the feck out of me, but I’m okay,” Kevin repeated himself and ran a hand through his hair.

Dan just stared at him, his mouth slightly open.  _ What have I done?, _ he seemed to want to say but stayed quiet.

“Calm down. I’m good. You only hurt all three of my feelings. But other than that, everything is fine,” Kevin repeated, placing both hands on his boyfriend’s cheeks. He was too shocked to think clearly and he wanted to do nothing more than to make Dan laugh and smile again and forget the incident.

“I’m so sorry. You scared me and I…” Daniel didn’t laugh. “I- I am so sorry.”

“Dan, it’s okay,” Kevin said but his boyfriend shook his head.

“Kevin, you might want to help Jill with the guests and close the café. I can stay with Daniel,” Max said finally.

Kevin had completely forgotten that Max was also there. But his boyfriend was still shaking and close to tears. Kevin whispered: "Everything will be fine again. You are having a panic attack but it will be over soon, okay? Close your eyes and breathe in as much air as you can. Good! Now slowly let it out and repeat until I come back. Yes, you are doing great."

“Thank you,” Kevin said and reluctantly let go of Dan. When walking past Max, he nodded at him. With his right hand, he pulled the spatula out of the door to take it with him.

“Sit down, Daniel. I’ll give you some water. Maybe you should hold a cat,” Max said and opened the door again. Immediately, two cats entered the room like they had been waiting in front of the door. Max was sure he hadn’t seen them before. One was grey with long fluffy hair and white feet and one had no hair at all.

“And what are your names?” he asked.

Dan sat on the floor and the cats jumped into his lap. He seemed to be confused by their presence for a moment, before hugging both cats. “Those are Dymka and Pushok. Dymka is the grey one because it means smoky in Russian and Pushok is the furless one. It’s a joke because Pushok means furry. ...Pushok doesn’t mind,” Dan replied, hugging the cats. Pushok seemed like it did, in fact, mind.

Since panic attacks can cause a feeling of detachment or separation from reality, touching an object and concentrating on that can combat a panic attack as it’s approaching or being in the process of happening.

Deep in unpleasant thoughts, Dan ran his fingers over the warm fur and skin of the cats. Max handed Dan a glass of cold water before he sat down next to him and already forgot the names of the cats. The floor was surprisingly warm and not as much covered in cat hair as he had expected. Dan slowly drank the whole glass before taking some more deep breaths.

“What are you thinking about, Daniel?”

Max remembered Liam once reading an article to him while they had breakfast.  _ In a panic situation, it is advised to take long and slow breaths. Furthermore one should try to think of a ‘happy place’ and concentrate on all the little details. _ Max’ happy place probably was eating breakfast with Liam. Listening to him read the news to him, watching him prepare his tea or practising to flip pancakes and- 

The hint of a smile wandered over Dan's lips. "The first time I met Kevin. ...It was a rainy day and he was soaked with water like he had swum straight through the sea to the café. I gave him my pullover and he thinks I don't know but of course, I noticed how he always keeps it close and he thinks it's magical."

"Is it magical?"

"It's the cat hair." Daniel smiled.

"Yeah I know, Kevin has told this story at least a million times. Would you like to hear the story about how I met Liam for the first time?" Max asked in an attempt to keep Dan from remembering what had upset him as he noticed Dan had calmed down.

"I thought basically Liam had a Minecraft server-" Dan started in confusion. His eyes shifted around the room, restlessly, while he petted one cat with each hand.

"Yes, but... there is another story. It's up to you if you believe it or not but when I was younger, I used to be a skater boi."

"Really?" Dan couldn't hide a small chuckle but Max didn't mind.

"Yeah. There was this small park close to where I lived. All the other skater bois met there after school --or sometimes during math class."

"Skater bois?"

"Yes, that's what the cool kids say. Am I hip yet?” Max chuckled to himself. “Anyway. On one fateful day, years later, I brought out the ole’ board to see if I still got it. I remember it like it was yesterday that the sun was warm and the grass was green and suddenly, just like he had just jumped right out of a fairy tale, I saw this handsome young man walking past the trees. He had a violet shirt, blue shorts and sunglasses and he had this cat in a red harness. Most adorable creature ever. So, I tried the Roast Beef Grab, followed by the Bean Plant and the Kickturn and-"

Dan's eyes had turned a bit too glassy so Max touched his shoulder to bring his attention back. Dan looked at him and smiled. Max continued as he took Pushok from Dan to also pet her: "Anyway. So this cute guy with his adorable cat walked by and I wanted to impress him. But then something happened that had never happened in 73 years."

"What happened?"

Max made a very dramatic pause before he said, "I fell."

"Oh."

"And it probably was the best thing that could have happened. The cute guy ran over to help me up and he had the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen. He had those little scratch marks on his face, that were obviously from the cat. We had this moment when -we just stared at each other and then he helped me back to my feet."

"Awww."

"He asked me if everything was okay and I said yes. We nodded at each other. And when he was just about to turn away, his cat bit into my board."

"Cats know a lot more things than we do," Dan said with a soft smile. Pushok and Dymka seemed to meow in agreement.

"I tried to get my board back but the cat wouldn't let go and Liam was so embarrassed. It was adorable. It took us several minutes to get Miyo to let go of the board. Then he apologised and asked if he could buy me a new board. Without thinking I asked him to buy me some coffee instead. And he said yes."

"This is adorable."

"And seven years later we are roommates, best friends and soulmates." Max had said the last sentence in an indescribably soft tone. His eyes were glittering in the damp light of the backroom.

"Oh I thought you two were-"

"Were what?"

"Never mind."

Dan sighed and acted like the question wasn't standing in the middle of the room. It was awkward and big, ever-growing until it reached the size of an elephant and threatened to step on their toes. But instead of the question doing just that, it made Max frown in confusion.

_ I thought you were more than that,  _ Dan wanted to say _.  _

Biting his lips, Max shook his head. He desperately wanted to believe that it was enough to be best friends, roommates and soulmates. 

Shouldn't it be in the nature of every human being to be always restless and crave for more? For more than a long hug? For more than a smile? For more than sharing their life almost every single day and never growing tired of each other’s company?

"Max?" Dan asked quietly. Pushok stared at Dan with huge eyes because he had stopped petting her.

It took Max a moment to get back to the cold hairy floor of reality and focus on Dan’s problems again. "What happened, Daniel? I have the feeling you didn't tell me everything." Max looked at him.

_ “‘The past is beyond your control. You have to accept this to move forward,’  _ George had said to me. But how could I forget the past if every little thing that happened there made me to the person I am today? I am the result of everything that ever happened to me; of everything I ever did.”

“I don’t think it’s about forgetting the past but about accepting it as a part of you,” Max replied and nudged his arm.

Dan managed a short smile. Then he started to speak again, "Have you ever done something-"

At that moment, Kevin knocked at the door from outside. "I'm done. We can go home now."

~~~

“So, Dan attacked you. What does that tell you?” Max said when they were back at the apartment and Dan had immediately hidden in the bathroom.

Kevin sat down at the kitchen table and watched Max prepare everything for a Lasagna while sighing wistfully.

“Everything can be a weapon if you use it wrong enough?” Kevin asked quietly.

“Well. Yes, but also-” Max hesitated, waiting for Kevin to finish the thought himself. But Kevin shook his head and crossed his arms and it reminded Max of when he was twelve and didn’t want to do his homework.

“You need to do something about that, Kevin,” he said softly.

“It was a mistake. He didn’t mean to- If he wants me dead he has to try a lot harder.”

“He needs a break. Maybe you both need a break.”

“I won’t leave him, Max. Feck. I love him.”

“I know and I’m not asking you to. Hear me out.”

They looked into each other’s eyes and finally, Kevin nodded.

~~~

Kevin stood in front of the door and listened. The only sounds were coming from the kitchen. The bathroom door probably could use some fresh paint. There were some dry dark spots on the carpet right in front of the door. In his head, he tried to figure out what to say. An attempt was made but it didn’t bring him anywhere. After a lot of hesitation, Kevin knocked at the bathroom door. “Dan?”

Indistinguishable noises came from the bathroom. Then for a moment, it got quiet.

“Yeah?”

“Are you okay?”

“No?”

Kevin slowly opened the door. Dan sat on the floor next to the toilet. With a sigh, Kevin sat down next to him. He hugged him and kissed his cheek. Then he took both his hands and also kissed them.

“Is aoibhinn liom tú …

Tá grá agam duit…

Mo grá thú,” Kevin said.

“What does that mean? It sure wasn’t Spanish.”

Kevin smiled at him. “The first one means I love you. The second one means also I love you. And the third one also means I love you.”

“So you knew it after all. “

“I wouldn’t just say it to anyone.“

They were quiet for a while, sitting on the floor next to each other while holding hands. After a minute had passed, Dan leaned his head against Kevin’s shoulder. Outside, it started to snow and white covered the small bathroom window.

“Do you sometimes think it will never be summer again?” Daniel asked quietly.

Kevin ran a hand through his hair and kissed his cheek again before they leaned their foreheads against each other. Dan closed his eyes. They listened to the steady water drops clunking against the sink.

“I packed your suitcase,” Kevin said.

Daniel went ghostly pale. He clasped Kevin’s hand too tightly.

“Are you kicking me out?”

“What? No! Dan! For feck’s sake. We are going on vacation.”

“What about -”

“Max and Jill will take care of the café. Don’t worry about it. Liam and Will are coming over, too. Soon.”

“I don’t want to be your…” Dan searched for words but they were gone.

“My what?” Kevin asked before he closed his eyes and gave him a gentle kiss. 

“Your problem. I don’t want to be your problem.”

“Loving you is a good problem to have.”

“Kevin...,” Dan gently touched his face. Then he traced his finger over his features. “I love you so much.”

“Wash your face. We are leaving tonight.”

“Wait. Kevin.” He held his hand and brought their faces close to each other again. ”Thank you for everything. You are the most annoying person, but still-”

“I know. But that’s no reason to try to stab me with a spatula. I’m glad nothing happened.”

“For a moment, I was worried something bad happened,” Dan tried to make a joke, but it fell flat and instead, Kevin just hugged him.

“Kevin, I can’t tell you enough how much I appreciate you,” he whispered against his boyfriend’s chest as Kevin held him.

“I know that I’m awesome, but you are not too bad, either. We’ll get through this together. First, you really need a vacation and secondly, we are going to find a good therapist. I promise.”

“I can’t remember the last time I had a vacation.”

Kevin kissed his cheek. Their eyes met. The moment was broken when the siren of a fire truck sounded as it drove down the street.

“That’s a metaphor for something but your guess is as good as mine,” Dan chuckled.

~~~

It was dark in the cafe, except for the light of the streetlamps shining through the windows. Very smeared windows, that Kevin had just made a half-assed attempt to clean. The cats assembled in the middle of the room in a perfect circle as midnight approached in hurried steps. Then there was a shadow.

“Do you think Dad is mad at Daddy?” Burnt Marshmallow whispered. Rebekka and Teddy shared a look.

“They’ll be fine, dear," Rose said.

“They not only share one brain cell but also a soul. That’s true love for you.” Sir Fecker the Third laughed.

“Love is composed of a soul inhabiting two bodies," Schrödinger started but was interrupted by the sound of tiny bells ringing an ancient melody. Then a weird light started shining and the cats went completely quiet. Like in a dream all the colours from the room were drained and every little movement from outside of the Café came to a hold.

A voice started speaking. It echoed through the room. It was like several echoing voices were speaking at once but it came from only one source.

“Do they still worship us, child?“ the voice asked.

"We shit in a box and they clean it," G.Flux replied.

"Good," Dymka and Pushok said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> You can find us in the [ CMRT-Server](https://discord.gg/FsBEb24b) -Here we sometimes do writing events and also talk a lot :)  
> And in the [ BoomMax-Server](https://discord.gg/P7nFJw4m) -Here we also got a ddt corner and a flowergarden :)
> 
> Stop by and say hi <3  
> And please leave a comment if you like what you saw. It would really help me :)


	37. Lighthouses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the comments they really helped me so so much!!!  
> <3<3<3  
> It is really motivating to know what was good :)
> 
> Thank you so much to my amazing beta [ defnotme](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KMelion/pseuds/defnotme)  
> They were a huge help and also are an amazing writer. Check them out!

"Gas stations are like land lighthouses," Kevin said and Dan nodded in agreement. 

With a deep sigh, Dan leaned his head against the cold glass of the window as he gazed outside. While Kevin hummed along to the radio, Dan watched the waves glitter whenever a sunbeam made its way through the clouds. The streets were mostly empty and Kevin took so many _"Shortcuts, Dan trust me I know exactly where we are"_ , that Dan had given up hope to ever arrive. But it didn't matter as long as he was with Kevin, who would sing whenever the radio couldn't get a signal. Which was a frequent occurrence. They had been driving for two hours and Dan counted the cows and sheep they drove past until he grew too tired. 

As they brought more and more distance between The Edge Of The Universe and themselves, Dan started to finally really relax. All the problems seemed to fade to the back of his mind where they could finally take a nap. 

After his conversation with Max, Kevin had rented a car to drive them up west to County Clare where he had rented a small cottage two miles to the beach. It was almost the same distance they would drive to Cork as well as the same scenery. The more important thing was that it was _somewhere else._

“What are you thinking about,” Kevin asked when they could get the first glance of the sea for the first time after another half an hour.

“Nothing,” Dan replied truthfully. He rested his hand on Kevin's thigh for a moment. “You?”

“Mostly you, I suppose," Kevin replied.

“Really?”

"You live rent-free in my head and my house."

Dan laughed out loud. Not long after that, Kevin parked the car in front of a small cottage. It's picture-perfect design looked to be stolen right out of a magazine. The light blue walls stood in gentle contrast to the accentuated windows. Small violet flowers were surrounding the cottage, bathing the scene in serenity. Dan took a deep breath of the fresh air before he turned around and Kevin hugged him, burying his face in his hair. With a swift motion, he suddenly had Dan's phone and held it out of reach.

"But-" Dan started.

"Don't worry about it. You need to stop worrying about a fecking lot of things." With a stern expression, Kevin turned their phones off and left them in the car. It felt like all worries dropped from Dan's shoulders the moment he closed the car's door behind him with a bang. Kevin fumbled with the keys for a while and Dan watched him, waiting patiently. The wind ruffled through their hair as they carried their suitcases from the car to the cottage. Finally, the door of the cottage opened and it smelled of paint and new furniture. Some time ago, someone had probably sprayed some air freshener. Kevin threw the suitcases in a corner of the room before picking Dan up to carry him inside.

"I love you, Kevin," Dan nuzzled against his boyfriend's neck.

"I love you, Dan."

~~~

Max had almost overslept because he had been on the phone with his roommate for most of the night. When he finally arrived, Jill was already waiting in front of The Edge Of The Universe for him.

“They don’t trust me enough to do it on my own," Jill mumbled while Max fumbled with the keys.

“Wha-”

“I know every little secret of the cafe because the cats tell me everything and I would never tell anyone but they just don’t trust me." Jill crossed their arms. They didn't want to sound childish at all costs but they couldn't help but frown.

He hesitated. "I'm sorry to hear that. Should I-"

"There isn't really anything to do about this. I just wish… ugh never mind."

Max held the door open for them before following into the café. When Jill suddenly stopped in their tracks, he almost walked into them. 

"This is weird," Jill said.

"What is weird?" He looked around before shaking his head. To him, the cats were acting unsuspicious. This place looked like Max would imagine heaven to be like.

"There are two new cats."

"There can never be enough cats," Max said cheerfully.

Jill stared at Pushok and Dymka. The cats ignored them or rather, they tried to do so until Max got the cat food out.

~~~

"I like the paintings," Kevin said, sitting on a little light blue sofa while Dan unpacked their suitcases. On every wall, was a different painting of a lighthouse.

"You know some stuff about art right? Can you explain them to me?" Kevin watched his boyfriend break into a big smile.

Dan took his glasses out of his bag and put them on before pointing at the lighthouse painting above the couch. "There is a melancholy to this piece. What is the meaning of the lighthouse symbol? A sinister branding? A message to the future?"

Kevin squinted at the painting, trying to see what had just been explained to him. With a chuckle, Dan pointed at the opposite wall. Next to a dusty mirror hung yet another painting. The painting showed a brown rock with a small blue and white striped lighthouse sitting on top of it. The sea in the picture was quiet and the sky was white and cloudless. "A bold and important piece about the fertility of women in lighthouses."

He let himself fall on the couch next to Kevin before pointing at one painting with a white and light blue lighthouse. "A solemn work of art, presumably about the horrifying effect of drug abuse."

"Now I see it, too." Kevin didn't look when he wrapped his arms around him. And while Kevin covered his neck and shoulders in kisses, Dan said, "And that one on the opposite wall of the entrance-"

Kevin stopped so he could look at him and Dan continued, "-is also a thought-provoking work. We are all walled in, yet are the walls our own making? There is a way out but will we take it?"

"We will. Let's go outside." Kevin took his hand and pulled him back to his feet.

"Will we?" 

"Yes, and you are going to get sand everywhere."

"It's December and cold as feck outside."

"Okay, true."

"But I prefer not getting sand everywhere anyway."

His hands running over the soft fabric of Dan's pullover, Kevin gently kissed his neck, before he picked him up. The warm breath on his skin made him shiver.

"Alexa, play Ring Of Fire," Kevin said when he threw Dan on the small bed like a sack of potatoes.

It stayed silent. There was no Alexa in the cottage. Only the wind could be heard as well as the waves in the distance. Above the sea were some seagulls, fighting over a very unfortunate fish. Here, it was just the two of them.

~~~

Rose sat next to Pushok inside a cave on the biggest scratching tree in the café, ensuring that no one would hear them.

"You never said how things were going for you?"

"New liver but same old eagles," Pushok replied. "But ask me what you really wanted to ask."

Rose hesitated for a moment. Her ears twitched, as she listened if anyone was close by. But the café hadn't been opened yet and most of the other cats were in another corner of the room, distracted by a stuffed squeaky mouse. "Is our secret still safe?" Rose finally asked.

"It's as safe as it can be, regarding the circumstances." Pushok glanced outside and saw Max finish sweeping the cat hair from the floor and tables, while Jill opened the door to let the first guests in. A few children whose first lesson of the day got cancelled and had nowhere else to go, as well as a young lady, who had brought some treats for Sir Fecker The Third, were among them.

“I shall sleep now,” Pushok said and closed her eyes, ending the conversation at once.

No less worried than before, Rose left the scratch tree to keep an eye on Max, who was being a boomer, fighting with the coffee machine. In a questionable turn of events, the machine seemed to win their argument.

"Do you like cats?" Jill asked Max, as they helped him prepare the first coffee of the day. 

"I have my own cat. Well, it's technically my roommate's cat," Max said.

"You have a roommate?"

"Yes, he is the best. I will never forget his kindness last winter when I was attacked by squirrels and he came to help me," Max said.

"Do I want to ask?" Jill asked while they started to prepare another set of orders.

"Probably not."

"And how did you meet Kevin?"

"Basically, it all started because Liam had a Minecraft server."

And Max talked about skating and Kevin's ripped jeans. For a while he talked in Spanish, he told them about the server and the zoo while also talking to all of the customers, giving life advice, telling the history of the canary islands and playing with the cats. Martha and her friends made a drinking game out of it, taking a shot whenever Max said, "Where was I?" Somehow, he told the story until they had to close the café for the night.

"Do you miss him?" Jill suddenly asked as they turned off the lights.

"I miss Liam all the time."

~~~

Kevin smiled when he saw Dan watching the sea through the window, leaning against the frame. It was very different from the way he had been staring out of the window in the cat cafe. Instead, he seemed calm and collected and something told Kevin that he was daydreaming of nicer things. When Kevin stood next to him, Dan leaned his head against his shoulder. Hand in hand, they soon walked outside, where a cold breeze greeted them. Kevin took a Cereal Bar out of his pocket to share with Dan but got attacked by a seagull, which he afterwards decided to name Rat Boy. Rat Boy stole half of the cereal bar, which he had wanted to give to Dan. It came to sit with its meal on a nearby tree just out of reach for Kevin. Soon, another seagull appeared which Dan named Zack. The birds shared one half of the bar, while Kevin and Dan ate the other half. From time to time, they glanced at the birds suspiciously.

“Do you think Rat Boy and Zack have a nest together?” Dan asked when the birds left.

Kevin just shrugged, still upset about being attacked and robbed by a bird. In silence, they watched the sea glittering in the light of the setting sun, painting the sky in a beautiful shade of red. They listened to each other breathing, as they sat next to one another on the little blue bench behind the cottage.

"Would you like some ice cream?" Kevin broke the silence softly.

"Maybe later. But you could- maybe you could sing something for me."

"Okay, wait a second!"

Dan smiled brighter than the setting sun as he watched Kevin sprint back inside to get his guitar. Less than a minute later, he was back. He played a few tunes, as his fingers were slowly getting numb from the cold.

"Do you sometimes think about how we can see the Great Fecker from everywhere on Earth?" Kevin watched the decreasing moon appear behind the clouds. The light reflected in the waves of the never-resting sea.

"We are all looking at the same moon." Dan snuggled closer to Kevin. "And we are looking at the same moon all of our ancestors have looked at."

Kevin lowered the guitar. They sat there for a long time before they went back into the warmth of the cottage.

In the distance, a seagull screeched a lovesong to the moon.

~~~

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. Tell me what you think so far.  
> Leave a kudos and a comment, if you like what you saw.


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